Omar Khadr, a Toronto native who is now 24, was 15 when taken into custody in Afghanistan. Khadr has been detained since 2002 at the U.S. naval detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (pictured above). UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg |
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OTTAWA, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Canada will take a young Canadian who admitted fighting with al-Qaida forces and killing a U.S. soldier, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Monday.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Cannon said Canada will "implement" a plea deal the U.S. government reached with attorneys for Omar Khadr that will allow Khadr to serve out the remainder of an eight-year prison term after completing one more year in the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he has been held following his 2002 arrest.
Cannon, during verbal sparring with members of Parliament in the House of Commons, said the Canadian government was not involved in the negotiations that will result in Khadr returning to his homeland.
Cannon pointed to comments made by the chief prosecutor at Khadr's hearing that the agreement was reached solely by U.S. officials and Khadr's lawyers.
Ujjal Dosanjh, a Liberal member of Parliament, said Cannon deliberately misled people. "Obviously they were talking to the U.S. government all the time," Dosanjh said.
A U.S. State Department spokesman in Washington said an exchange of diplomatic notes on Oct. 23 "helped pave the way" for the plea deal, the CBC said.
Another member of Parliament, Wayne Marston said that memo reveals either Cannon wasn't on top of things in his department or wasn't being straight forward.
In Gaspesie, Quebec, Monday, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said it was "perfectly clear" the Conservative government was involved.
"This kind of behavior makes Canadians ask themselves, 'Well, if they can't tell us the truth about the Khadr affair, can they tell us the truth about anything else?'" he said.
Khadr, a Toronto native who is now 24, was 15 when taken into custody in Afghanistan.
