Current Events Presentation #1“Khadr pleads guilty in exchange for

repatriation to Canada”

Presentation by: Mr. Ambrose

Oct 26/2010

Article information

• Article: “Khadr pleads guilty in exchange for repatriation to Canada”

• Written by: Paul Koring• Published in The Globe and Mail - Oct

25/10• http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/americas/khadr-pleads-

guilty-in-exchange-for-repatriation-to-canada/article1771325/singlepage/#articlecontent

Who?

• Omar Khadr - Canadian teenager and son of a prominent al-Qaeda financier– sole survivor among a group of Islamist fighters battling U.S. troops in a 2002

incident. He was also injured in the attack. – Is accused of throwing a grenade which killed a U.S. soldier– Was 15 years old at the time (child soldier) and is now 24– First child soldier detained by the United States since World War II

• U.S. Navy Captain John Murphy, the lead prosecutor in the trial

• Khadr’s defense lawyer Dennis Edney

What happened?

• Khadr agreed to plead guilty “in exchange for the Canadian government agreeing to let him come back to Canada to serve the rest of his jail time after one year, according to his Canadian lawyer Dennis Edney

• reversing years of denial, has admitted he is a murderer, a terrorist a war criminal, and Al Qaeda member

• said he understood he was guilty of “murder in violation of the laws of war”

Why?

• Omar Khadr has been waiting a very long time to hear what his fate will be

• Many say he was forced to plead guilty so that he could return back to Canada

• US and Canadian governments did not know what to do with Khadr’s case as it is very controversial

Where?

• Trial at U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

• Original incident occurred in Afghanistan

• Khadr has been in U.S. prisons, first in Bagram, Afghanistan, and, for the past eight years, at Guantanamo.

When?

• October 25, 2010 - Khadr pleads guilty to 5 charges

• Initial incident occurred in 2002

How?

• Canadian Foreign Affairs minister Lawrence Cannon and Prime Minister Stephen Harper decided to let the US government handle the case despite opposition which wanted Khadr to have a fair trial in Canada

• Khadr has been awaiting trial for several years now and the Canadian government has done little about his case.

Type of Article/Ongoing News

• article is both national and global because it involves a Canadian citizen and takes place in Cuba at the U.S. Naval base

• News story is ongoing because Omar Khadr has been in jail for over 8 years and trial is not completed yet.

• Sentencing continues• Story has been in the news for over 8 years

as well

Controversial Issue• Human-rights groups were against the

deal (Amnesty International + others)• Harper government seemed determined to

distance itself from the deal.• “Omar Khadr is a victim of Canadian

politics and a victim of American politics. ... Prime Minister Harper should feel ashamed and the Canadian public should feel ashamed,” Mr. Edney said.

• It is also alleged that Khadr was tortured many times, physically and mentally while in US custody at Guantanamo and Bagram

Why I chose this article

• I’ve been intrigued by the Khadr case for many years now and have wondered what his fate would be since I first heard about him in 2003. I find it appaling that he has been left in a U.S prison for so long especially since he was a child soldier. I think the Canadian government should be embarrassed by how they handled this case, especially since there doesn’t seem to be much evidence that proves Khadr through the grenade as is alleged. I believe that youth should have certain rights protected like they do here in Canada. It will be interesting to see what sentence is handed down to Khadr in the coming weeks.