ianstone
08-10-2010, 03:00 PM
10 August 2010 Last updated at 17:54
Canadian Omar Khadr goes on trial at Guantanamo Bay
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48672000/jpg/_48672687_009951099-1.jpg
Omar Khadr was 15 when he allegedly killed the US soldier
The trial has opened of the youngest of the remaining detainees at the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay.
Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen, is accused of throwing a grenade that killed a US soldier during a gun battle in Afghanistan in 2002, when he was 15.
He alleges that he was tortured into confessing to the murder.
It is the first contested trial at Guantanamo under President Barack Obama - who had promised to close the centre by the beginning of this year.
Earlier, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict said Mr Khadr's trial might set a dangerous precedent for child soldiers worldwide and urged the US to end it.
"The statute of the International Criminal Court makes it clear that no-one under 18 will be tried for war crimes, and prosecutors in other international tribunals have used their discretion not to prosecute children," Radhika Coomaraswamy said.
"Since World War II, no child has been prosecuted for a war crime. Child soldiers must be treated primarily as victims and alternative procedures should be in place, aimed at rehabilitation or restorative justice."
Continue reading the main story (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10929674#story_continues_1) Related stories
Canadian's 'confessions' allowed (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10922246)
Canada 'not obliged to aid Khadr' (http://www.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8488073.stm)
Rare glimpse inside Guantanamo Bay (http://www.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7507452.stm)
'Disgraceful'
Mr Khadr, the last remaining Western detainee at Guantanamo and the only one to have been charged with murder, appeared before the military commission at Guantanamo on Tuesday dressed in a grey suit and tie.
The 23-year-old's lawyer, US Army Lt Col Jon Jackson, then began interviewing a pool of 15 military officers, at least five of whom will be selected to form a jury.
Opening arguments are due to begin on Wednesday in a trial expected to last about three weeks.
Prosecutors describe Mr Khadr as an al-Qaeda militant, who killed Sgt Christopher Speer when a US special forces unit raided one of the group's compounds in eastern Afghanistan. Mr Khadr was shot twice in the back during the firefight and was flown to Guantanamo shortly after.
Continue reading the main story (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10929674#story_continues_2) “Start Quote
We are going to see the first trial of a child soldier in modern history”
End Quote Lt Col Jackson Lawyer for Omar Khadr
But the defence say Mr Khadr was himself a victim, forced into war by a family with close ties to al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.
The US says his father, Ahmed Said Khadr, was an al-Qaeda financier before he was killed in a gun battle in Pakistan in 2003.
"He's not a real Taliban warrior. He's a kid who was put in an unfortunate situation," Dennis Edney, a Canadian lawyer, told reporters.
At a preliminary hearing on Monday, a military judge ruled that the confessions Mr Khadr allegedly made while in custody could feature in the trial.
Lt Col Jackson had argued that they were obtained through "degrading treatment", including indirect threats of rape and death.
However, prosecutors said that according to FBI and US naval intelligence agents Mr Khadr had spoken to them freely.
Lt Col Jackson said the decision was "disgraceful" and noted that "we are going to see the first trial of a child soldier in modern history".
The charges include murder, conspiracy and support of terrorism. He has refused an offer of 30 years in jail in exchange for a guilty plea. A conviction carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Canada has declined to intervene in Mr Khadr's trial, despite High Court rulings in Ottawa that his rights were violated when Canadian agents interrogated him at Guantanamo Bay.
Canadian Omar Khadr goes on trial at Guantanamo Bay
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48672000/jpg/_48672687_009951099-1.jpg
Omar Khadr was 15 when he allegedly killed the US soldier
The trial has opened of the youngest of the remaining detainees at the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay.
Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen, is accused of throwing a grenade that killed a US soldier during a gun battle in Afghanistan in 2002, when he was 15.
He alleges that he was tortured into confessing to the murder.
It is the first contested trial at Guantanamo under President Barack Obama - who had promised to close the centre by the beginning of this year.
Earlier, the UN special representative for children and armed conflict said Mr Khadr's trial might set a dangerous precedent for child soldiers worldwide and urged the US to end it.
"The statute of the International Criminal Court makes it clear that no-one under 18 will be tried for war crimes, and prosecutors in other international tribunals have used their discretion not to prosecute children," Radhika Coomaraswamy said.
"Since World War II, no child has been prosecuted for a war crime. Child soldiers must be treated primarily as victims and alternative procedures should be in place, aimed at rehabilitation or restorative justice."
Continue reading the main story (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10929674#story_continues_1) Related stories
Canadian's 'confessions' allowed (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10922246)
Canada 'not obliged to aid Khadr' (http://www.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8488073.stm)
Rare glimpse inside Guantanamo Bay (http://www.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7507452.stm)
'Disgraceful'
Mr Khadr, the last remaining Western detainee at Guantanamo and the only one to have been charged with murder, appeared before the military commission at Guantanamo on Tuesday dressed in a grey suit and tie.
The 23-year-old's lawyer, US Army Lt Col Jon Jackson, then began interviewing a pool of 15 military officers, at least five of whom will be selected to form a jury.
Opening arguments are due to begin on Wednesday in a trial expected to last about three weeks.
Prosecutors describe Mr Khadr as an al-Qaeda militant, who killed Sgt Christopher Speer when a US special forces unit raided one of the group's compounds in eastern Afghanistan. Mr Khadr was shot twice in the back during the firefight and was flown to Guantanamo shortly after.
Continue reading the main story (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10929674#story_continues_2) “Start Quote
We are going to see the first trial of a child soldier in modern history”
End Quote Lt Col Jackson Lawyer for Omar Khadr
But the defence say Mr Khadr was himself a victim, forced into war by a family with close ties to al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.
The US says his father, Ahmed Said Khadr, was an al-Qaeda financier before he was killed in a gun battle in Pakistan in 2003.
"He's not a real Taliban warrior. He's a kid who was put in an unfortunate situation," Dennis Edney, a Canadian lawyer, told reporters.
At a preliminary hearing on Monday, a military judge ruled that the confessions Mr Khadr allegedly made while in custody could feature in the trial.
Lt Col Jackson had argued that they were obtained through "degrading treatment", including indirect threats of rape and death.
However, prosecutors said that according to FBI and US naval intelligence agents Mr Khadr had spoken to them freely.
Lt Col Jackson said the decision was "disgraceful" and noted that "we are going to see the first trial of a child soldier in modern history".
The charges include murder, conspiracy and support of terrorism. He has refused an offer of 30 years in jail in exchange for a guilty plea. A conviction carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Canada has declined to intervene in Mr Khadr's trial, despite High Court rulings in Ottawa that his rights were violated when Canadian agents interrogated him at Guantanamo Bay.