With today’s guilty pleas in a courtroom in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and persistent rumours from knowledgeable sources in both the Canadian and American media that a plea deal is in the works, it appears Omar Khadr will eventually return to Canada. The next question requiring the most scrutiny is what do we do with him?
As the only Western detainee left at Guantanamo Bay, as well as the fact he was arrested at the age of 15, Khadr’s military commission trial was under heavy international scrutiny and will continue to be in the coming days, despite Monday’s events. Now 24, after a summer in which he reportedly rejected more than one plea deal to avoid a trial, Khadr entered guilty pleas to charges of murder in violation of the laws of war, attempted murder in violation of the laws of war, conspiracy, two counts of providing material support for terrorism and spying in the United States.
The sentencing hearing will go ahead this week despite repeated media reports — many of which speak with a certain finality — that both Washington and Ottawa have reached a deal that will see Khadr sentenced to eight years in prison, one year of which would spent in Guantanamo. Afterwards, he would be allowed to apply to serve the duration of his sentence in Canada. The only scenario in which the plea deal would not be accepted is if the military jury imposes a lesser sentence.
It is the end of a disgraceful affair, both for the U.S. and Canadian governments, especially Stephen Harper. Despite his age, Khadr was never deemed a child soldier, was interrogated without counsel by CSIS agents, which shared the information with his American captors, was allegedly tortured and treated inhumanely and never received the support of his government, even in the face of a Supreme Court of Canada decision ruling his charter rights had been breached. Harper, even as Khadr pleaded guilty Monday, has refused any kind of aid to a man once described in a government summary as a “thoroughly screwed-up young man.”
Harper has fought to keep Khadr out of Canada, but is now faced with the very likely prospect he will soon return. The question becomes, then what? Immediately the terms of Khadr’s sentence will have to be ironed out, as parole eligibility in Canada is much more lenient than in the U.S. But will the government re-introduce Khadr back into society once his jail term, however long it turns out to be, expires?
Khadr’s immediate family is one of Canada’s most notorious. His father Ahmed, once considered one of Osama Bin Laden’s lieutenants, is dead, killed in an airstrike in Pakistan. One of his brothers caught in the same attack is paralyzed. Another brother has been imprisoned and interrogated, while yet another has cut all ties with the family and his sister was detained at an airport and searched because of her affiliations. There is little in the way of a stable home life Khadr can look forward to, considering he has spent one-third of his life in jail.
It is in Khadr’s, the government’s and the public’s best interests to ensure he has access to the most comprehensive rehabilitation plan possible when repatriated. He will be in his thirties by the time he is released, but between his family and Guantanamo, has seldom tasted actual freedom. He will need intensive counselling and therapy while in prison to prepare him for the day he is finally freed. He has waited a long time to come home. It is in everyone’s best interests that he makes the most of it.
