Teens rights trampled (Canadian age 17 at Guantanamo)

[JoFerret]

http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=de180bbb-53d2-4a4e-b70f-100489dc4196

EDMONTON - Amid allegations his client confessed to being an al-Qaeda terrorist, Edmonton lawyer Dennis Edney waits for the security clearance and U.S. approval he needs to visit Omar Khadr in a U.S. military lockup in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"I am presently being screened both by CSIS (the Canadian Security Intelligence Service) and hopefully the Americans so I can go," Edney said Friday as the front page of the National Post featured a story with the headline "Canadian 'admitted he's a terrorist.' "

Edney wonders how the alleged confession was obtained. To date, he has been unable to either see or communicate with his 17-year-old client. And neither have Canadian consular officials.

Khadr's long captivity has placed Edney in a legal quagmire.

The Americans say the Toronto-born Khadr admitted to being a trained al-Qaeda terrorist. They say he planted land mines in Afghanistan and killed an American soldier there. Khadr has been in U.S. custody since July 2002 when he was captured in a gun battle.

Edney feels his client's rights are being trampled because of unsavoury family connections to al-Qaeda.

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[gbwarming]

1. He's 17 now. Was 14 when sent to gitmo

CBC has a page on the whole family. I don't know what to think about this.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/khadr/khadrfamily.html

[Radius]

2. Was he on Vacation in talibanland?

He was there to fight..Let him rot. He is lucky not to be swinging from the end of a rope.

Thats what I think about it..

[Darth_Kitten]

4. Cripes....he's a kid for crying out loud..........

:eyes:

[gbwarming]

5. You didn't read it. Not that simple.

He wasn't there to fight, he lived there. He's a 14 year old whose father took him from Canada to Afghanistan.

[Radius]

6. CSIS

determined he is a combatant, the interrogated him. He confessed. He and his father lost his rights when he took up arms. Under the geneva convention he is subject to detention, tribunal, and any sentence imposed, including death. Same rule applies to soied during times of war.

I don't plan a vacation to Iraq or Afghanistan any time soon.

[Spazito]

7. CSIS is under fire for the Arar case....

just cause CSIS says something doesn't make it true. The young man is entitled to a lawyer, full stop.

[Radius]

8. Not according to the Geneva conventions,

He is an illegal combatant and subject to MILITARY trial. The military can provide him a lawyer at his tribunal. If it is proven he planted mines that killed americans he is subject to death.

Personally I thing the Afghans should try them and apply Sharia punishment, thinking queen of hearts. Live by the sword..

Does Canada want him back? Australia doesn't even want their jihados back.

[Spazito]

9. He cannot be deemed an illegal combatant without a tribunal to ....

designate him as such according to the Geneva Conventions. You might want to recheck your research.

[IndianaGreen]

3. Don't worry, we will abolish the Guantanamo Concentration camp in 2005

Our platform says so... somewhere in here... let's see, is it under the "G" for Guanatanamo... Hmmmm... (flipping pages)

Never mind!