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Associated Press
Video stills of Omar Khadr
Video stills of Omar Khadr
Detainee’s Lawyers Release First-Ever Guantanamo Video
by
Rachel Balik
Attorneys for Canadian-born Omar Khadr released the video of his interrogation at Guantanamo with intent to incite Canada to free him.
30-Second Summary
Omar Khadr, 21, a Canadian citizen whose family moved to Afghanistan to join al-Qaida, was captured at age 15 after a battle between alleged al-Qaida members and American soldiers in which he sustained severe injuries and allegedly threw a grenade. He was the youngest terrorism suspect imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay.
In the video, the boy, then 16, pulls on his hair, begs for medical treatment and cries, “you don’t care about me,” when soldiers deny him help.
His attorneys have released the video of his interrogation at the notorious prison—the first public video of Guantanamo prisoners—in the hopes that the Canadian government will refuse to comply with the United States as it tries Khadr on terrorism charges. Attorney, Dennis Edney, told the Toronto Star, “I hope Canadians will be outraged to see the callous and disgraceful treatment of a Canadian youth.”
Many Canadians are indeed outraged. One law student has drafted a petition to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Amnesty International has demanded that Khadr be returned to Canada because his treatment “throughout his detention violates the USA’s obligations under international law.” But Harper says Canada has a precedent of refraining from intervention, and he will adhere to it.
Khadr was born in Canada but grew up on an al-Qaida compound in Afghanistan, where he socialized with Osama bin Laden’s children. They were raised to believe that the greatest honor in life was to be a martyr for Islam, and trained as terrorists. Khadr’s brother, who now works for the CIA, explains that attending Afghani terrorist training camps “is, like, for kids here to go to a hockey camp.”
In the video, the boy, then 16, pulls on his hair, begs for medical treatment and cries, “you don’t care about me,” when soldiers deny him help.
His attorneys have released the video of his interrogation at the notorious prison—the first public video of Guantanamo prisoners—in the hopes that the Canadian government will refuse to comply with the United States as it tries Khadr on terrorism charges. Attorney, Dennis Edney, told the Toronto Star, “I hope Canadians will be outraged to see the callous and disgraceful treatment of a Canadian youth.”
Many Canadians are indeed outraged. One law student has drafted a petition to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Amnesty International has demanded that Khadr be returned to Canada because his treatment “throughout his detention violates the USA’s obligations under international law.” But Harper says Canada has a precedent of refraining from intervention, and he will adhere to it.
Khadr was born in Canada but grew up on an al-Qaida compound in Afghanistan, where he socialized with Osama bin Laden’s children. They were raised to believe that the greatest honor in life was to be a martyr for Islam, and trained as terrorists. Khadr’s brother, who now works for the CIA, explains that attending Afghani terrorist training camps “is, like, for kids here to go to a hockey camp.”
Headline Links: ‘First Guantanamo video released’
Lawyers for Omar Khadr released video of his interrogation in the hopes that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper would refuse to allow the United States to prosecute the 21-year-old, who has been imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay since he was 15. In the video of the boy when he was 16, he cries, pulls his hair and begs, “help me.” The boy, who suffered damage to his eyes and legs in the fight during which he was captured, also says that he has not received adequate medical care. When guard fail to heed his requests, according to the BBC, he begins “sobbing uncontrollably” saying, “you don’t care about me.”
Source: The BBC
In the video, the boy also pleads to be returned to Canada. Canadian officials insist that they were assured by the United States that Khadr was being treated humanely, although evidence suggests otherwise. His lawyers and Amnesty International Canada hope the video will inspire outrage in Canadians and their government. “I hope Canadians will be outraged to see the callous and disgraceful treatment of a Canadian youth,” one lawyer, Dennis Edney, said.
Source: Toronto Star
Background: Abuse at Guantanamo
In 2004, the Red Cross sent confidential reports to the U.S government that charged that the interrogation techniques utilized at Guantanamo Bay were “‘tantamount to torture …’ It was the first time that the Red Cross, which has been conducting visits to Guantanamo since January 2002, asserted in such strong terms that the treatment of detainees, both physical and psychological, amounted to torture.”
Source: The New York Times
Key Player: Omar Khadr
Khadr was detained when he was 15 years old, making him the first minor in history to be charged with war crimes. He was captured after a fight in Afghanistan between alleged al-Qaida members and American soldiers. He was only surviving member of his group, and was arrested for throwing a hand grenade, although his actions are unwitnessed. Khadr was severely wounded in the battle and begged the American medic who found him to kill him. Khadr was raised by his Muslim extremist father, who ordered the boy to go to a compound to serve as translator for al-Qaida members stationed there, according to his brother, Abdurahman Khadr. Abdurahman now works for the CIA, but says they were both raised and trained with Osama Bin Laden’s children. “Going to the camps, training camps is, like, for kids here to go to a hockey camp,” he told 60 Minutes.
Source: CBS News
Treating adolescents as adults violates statutes of the Geneva Convention, but the U.S. government has claimed that the rule is inapplicable to its invasion of Afghanistan. When he was only 15, Khadr was taken to Guantanamo Bay with chest and eye wounds. He was denied painkillers to “induce cooperation” according to a Rolling Stone profile. Like other detainees, he traveled to the prison in a mask with all his senses blocked, enduring physical abuse from soldiers. When the extremist Muslim youth arrived off the ferry at Guantanamo, he was told, “Welcome to Israel.” Rolling Stone also reports that his father and community raised Khadr to believe that dying for the cause of Islam was the ultimate honor. Once a kind and giving child, Khadr was hardened by watching his father fight for his extremist cause.
Source: Rolling Stone
Opinion & Analysis: Is this injustice?
What should be done?
Law is Cool, a blog aimed at Canadian law students, posted a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper urging him to take action on behalf of Omar Khadr. Lawrence A. Gridin says that he is “ashamed” to be a Canadian citizen. But one of his commenters notes, “What was a Canadian citizen doing fighting in the Middle East? Khadr’s actions are keeping the government from acting, right or wrong. The lesson is if you are a Canadian citizen, don’t go and fight against Canadian (or US) soldiers in the Middle East.”
Source: Law is Cool
Amnesty International calls for Khadr’s immediate return to Canada. Based on evidence from the video, the organization states, “The treatment of Omar Khadr throughout his detention violates the USA’s obligations under international law, which requires that in all actions concerning children the best interests of the child must be a primary consideration.” Although the video do not directly show abuse, Khadr shows wounds to officials and receives no assistance.
Source: Amnesty International
One U.S. blogger accuses liberals of being unnecessarily moved by Khadr’s “crying like a baby. He concludes, “The only thing to cry about in this case is that it only proves we have completely reverted back to September 10th, 2001.” He says that a terrorist charged with five murders does not deserve sympathy.
Source: Flopping Aces
Canada’s next move
According to American-Islam expert Islam Hussam Ayloush, the government in Ottawa “has been bracing for the video’s release for weeks.” When a reporter called the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the video could be heard over the phone. Khadr’s lawyers are looking for a response from the people, and the government will pay attention to that reaction.
Source: Hussam Ayloush Blog
The current Conservative Canadian government says it will not take action to repatriate Khadr. It says that refraining from intervention is a Liberal precedent, and that ”Canada will leave due process in U.S. hands.” However, Canada is the only Western country with a citizen at Guantanamo, says Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae. “I think that Omar Khadr should be brought home, and whatever justice there is to be faced, he should face it here,” he said. One former CSIS agent also speculates that these events will tarnish relations between the U.S. and Canada. “Anybody can logically sort of assume that the Americans will be a little bit more cautious about what they give to us or in the context they give it to us, the Canadian authorities,” he said.
Source: CBC
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