Payout for Guantnamo teenager could boost rights of child soldiers

[Judi Lynn]

The case of Omar Khadr, who received an apology and compensation from Canada, could set precedent for children accused of terror crimes

Jo Griffin
@jogriffin2
Wednesday 12 July 2017 07.44 EDT

Canada’s compensation payment to a former child soldier could have worldwide implications, child rights defenders say. Omar Khadr, the only child soldier to have been prosecuted by a military tribunal for war crimes, has received an apology and $10.5m compensation from the Canadian government for failing to protect his rights.

The saga of Toronto-born Khadr has been a headache for Canada ever since he was found in 2002 following a firefight in Afghanistan alongside al-Qaida militants. The injured 15-year-old was suspected to have thrown a grenade that killed a US soldier. He was taken to Guantánamo Bay and in 2010 confessed to war crimes, including murder, before a US military commission.

His lawyers said his confession was obtained after torture and pressed for him to be repatriated to a Canadian jail, which went ahead in 2012, after much foot-dragging by Ottawa. Three years later, Khadr – once Guantánamo’s youngest inmate – was freed on bail to fight his conviction for killing US army medic Sgt Christopher Speer.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to acknowledge Canada’s role in enabling Khadr’s detention by the US in violation of his rights has polarised opinion at a time when countries’ treatment of children recruited by extremist groups has come under high-level scrutiny. Not only did Canada fail to protect a citizen, it colluded in breaking with international standards on juvenile justice.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/jul/12/omar-khadr-compensation-payout-could-boost-rights-of-child-soldiers

[customerserviceguy]

1. The US soldier

was a medic. Not someone with a weapon, but someone who worked to save lives. Medics saved Khadr's sorry ass, so that Canada could pay it off. I hope the medic's widow is successful in court to sue his ass off, if we can't shoot it off.

A child soldier can kill you just as effectively as his parents. When you're in a combat zone with a weapon, you are a combatant.

[Solly Mack]

2. K&R