And yet...I'm somehow relieved that son Omar is now back in Canada after his imprisonment in Guantanamo Bay as a matter of justice. He is a Canadian citizen by birth and was the only citizen of a Western nation in Gitmo who had not been repatriated. I don't know enough about the evidence from his trial to say whether he deserved the sentence he received although he was a 15-year-old at the time he allegedly killed a US soldier with a grenade and if memory serves me correctly he is the only soldier convicted of a combat killing in Afghanistan in a court of law.
If the Canadian government is satisfied with that conviction then he should serve his sentence, at least until his mandatory parole, but it should be in a Canadian prison. Guantanamo Bay is a hell-hole by all accounts and we have people convicted of far worse crimes incarcerated in better conditions and subject to Canadian law.
Church groups have advocated for Kadhr's return, even though he was a combatant and likely a terrorist, because he was an indoctrinated soldier and a Canadian citizen. We don't have to like him to believe in justice, something demonstrated with others in the courts of the land every day. And there is plenty of evidence that he has made strong efforts to become educated and has not been "radicalized" by his incarceration.
Complicated! How have you felt about his repatriation? Lock him up and throw away the key, or give him an eventual chance for a new life?
Sneak a peak at my latest Groundling offering:
http://groundlingearthyheavenly.blogspot.ca/2012/10/planet-earths-lifeguard.html
Lock, key, says me.
ReplyDeleteAt fifteen, I'm quite sure you're aware of what happens once the grenade leaves your hand. I'm also quite sure, given what he's said in interrogation, that he was pleased with the outcome.
Maybe I'm getting caustic ... ?!
My vote is for a new life. He was only fifteen. Give him a chance.
ReplyDeleteIf there is enough evidence to prove terrorist ties then the whole bunch should be deported.
ReplyDeleteAs for Omer. What usually happens to a captured soldier? We can assume that over the years there have been a number of captured soldiers who had killed someone. That's what they do. Kill as many of the other guys as you can when in battle.
The tricky part is that he is Canadian by birth. That has helped young Mr. Kahdr. If he was Afgan, or Iranian where would he be now?
Frankly I think they should have kept him. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I had gone to Florida, and killed someone be it murder, or manslaughter. I would be arrested, tried, convicted, and incarserated in Florida.
It's all very bad business.
If there is enough evidence to prove terrorist ties then the whole bunch should be deported.
ReplyDeleteAs for Omer. What usually happens to a captured soldier? We can assume that over the years there have been a number of captured soldiers who had killed someone. That's what they do. Kill as many of the other guys as you can when in battle.
The tricky part is that he is Canadian by birth. That has helped young Mr. Kahdr. If he was Afgan, or Iranian where would he be now?
Frankly I think they should have kept him. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I had gone to Florida, and killed someone be it murder, or manslaughter. I would be arrested, tried, convicted, and incarserated in Florida.
It's all very bad business.