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Canada will not press for young Gitmo inmate's return
Canada will not demand the return of a young Canadian inmate held at Guantanamo Bay, it said on Wednesday.
- Agencies
- Published: 11:26 July 17, 2008
Ottawa: Canada will not demand the return of a young Canadian inmate held at Guantanamo Bay, it said on Wednesday.
Video footage showing the now-21 year old inmate, Omar Khadr weeping and pleading for help sparked calls for his release from politicians and commentators.
Khadr faces murder charges for killing a US medic in Afghanistan in 2002 when he was just 15.
His interrogation by Canadian agents over four days in February 2003 shows him moaning in despair and crying out for his mother.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Khadr faces serious charges and should go on trial.
"Our position has not changed and it's not going to. We're not going to blow in the wind on something as fundamental as this," Harper's chief spokesman said.
Khadr's lawyers, who are calling Ottawa to intervene with Washington, released the video.
The video shows Khadr in an orange prison jumpsuit, burying his head in his hands or pulling at his hair in evident despair.
Some critics have said Khadr needs rehabilitation and should be treated as a child soldier, while others stress his actions demand the treatment he has received.
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