Omar Ahmed Khadr (in Arabic عمر أحمد خضر) (born September 19, 1986) is the fifth child in the Canadian Khadr family. He was captured by American forces at the age of 15 Find more introductory material and related coverage through Jury Pool selection below Friday Update.
UPDATES Thursday and Friday Reports
Friday from FDL FireDogLake dot com here Khadr Trial Suspended for at Least 30 Days
Things are not going well in our Kangaroo Court. After quickly determining a fake sentence for Osama bin Laden’s cook, Ibrahim al Qosi, matters turned to trying Omar Khadr for an alleged murder that normally wouldn’t be a crime that he allegedly committed as a teenager using evidence gotten through rape threats. So they picked a jury (but not...guy who wanted Gitmo closed and not sold on admitting evidence received under torture or threat of same) and proceeded to the witnesses.
Lieutenant Colonel Jon Jackson was in the middle of highlighting the many inconsistencies of prosecution witness testimony when he collapsed in the court room. Daphne Eviatar: "On Thursday afternoon I watched Omar Khadr’s sole defense lawyer, Lt. Col. Jon Jackson, collapse in the Guantanamo Bay courtroom in the middle of conducting a cross-examination of a key government witness. He was taken away on a stretcher by ambulance, hooked up to an I.V...collapse was related to complications from gall bladder surgery Jackson had about six weeks ago...trial has been suspended for at least 30 days. So the showcase war crime trial for allegations that most don’t consider to be a war crime will have to wait (and they may have to start all over again with jury selection)."
Thursday: Amnesty International has condemned the US government’s decision to go ahead with the military… here AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE AI Index: PRE 01/277/201012 August 2010
Omar Khadr Guantánamo military trial condemned - Amnesty International has condemned the US government’s decision to go ahead with the military commission trial of Omar Khadr at the Guantánamo Bay detention centre, describing the move as another violation of human rights by the USA in the name of countering terrorism.
Amnesty Blog as of Thursday here
Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen, was taken into US custody as a 15-year-old in 2002 in Afghanistan, following a fire fight with US forces. He is facing five "war crime" charges, including a murder charge for allegedly throwing a grenade that fatally wounded a US soldier. The trial is due to begin today.“The USA has turned a deaf ear to the repeated appeals of the international community, including senior UN officials, not to set this dangerous precedent of an unfair trial of an individual accused of alleged ‘war crimes’ committed when he was a child”, said Rob Freer, USA researcher at Amnesty International.“After eight years of ignoring its human rights obligations, the USA is now set to try Omar Khadr under procedures that fail to meet international fair trial standards”, Rob Freer continued. “History will not judge its actions kindly”.
Omar Khadr Project: Advocating justice for ...the young Canadian citizen in Guantanamo Bay. Omar Khadr’s treatment is against the rule of law, human rights, and the rights of children. here
Other references: The Omar Khadr Project here
Wednesday August 11th Glenn Greenwald agreed with Maher Arar that Khadr should not be tried at Gitmo here
Maher Arar's column continues on with plenty of knowledgeable folk commenting
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