Khadr could face terrorism charges

TORONTO, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- A study released by the University of Ottawa says if Canadian-born Guantanamo Bay prisoner Omar Khadr is repatriated, he could face terrorism charges.

The study, authored by nine University of Ottawa law students, says if Canada asks the United States to repatriate Khadr, laws created after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, relating to terrorism and war crimes charges could be applied to Khadr's alleged offences in Afghanistan, the Star reported.

"It was important for us to not consider him guilty or not guilty but to see the (Guantanamo) process that he is in and decide whether it's fair," Ajmal Pashtoonyar, one of the report's nine authors, said in a statement. "What we should be asking is if the United States' government would be quiet if Canada had one of its U.S. citizens in a detention facility like Guantanamo."

Khadr was captured in July 2002 after a firefight in Afghanistan with U.S. forces. U.S. government officials allege that Khadr threw a grenade that fatally wounded a U.S. soldier.

The law students hope the committee will raise the issue when Canadian senators resume hearings next month, but Canadian foreign affairs spokesperson Eugenie Cormier-Lassonde says that "any questions regarding whether Canada plans to ask for the release of Omar Khadr from Guantanamo are premature and speculative as the legal process and appeals process are still ongoing."