GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — Rumors are swirling that a plea deal may be reached in the case of a young terrorism suspect, perhaps sparing the United States from becoming the first nation to try a former child soldier on war crimes.
Omar Ahmed Khadr of Canada was 15 when he was captured in Afghanistan in the company of hardened al-Qaeda fighters with whom his militant father had apprenticed him in 2002.
His trial, on charges that include the murder of a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier, is set to resume Monday.
Whether a plea agreement will be reached was unclear Saturday, but speculation about a deal has engulfed the Guantanamo Bay military tribunal for more than a week.
One key factor is whether the Canadian government would be willing to participate, because the Obama administration has reportedly offered Khadr an eight-year sentence, all but one year to be served in Canada, if he pleads guilty to all charges.
Khadr, now a bearded and strapping 24-year-old, is one of the few among the 174 prisoners still facing formal charges for alleged anti-American aggressions.
In addition to the murder allegation, charges against Khadr include attempted murder and spying. He faces life in prison if convicted.
Tribunal officials have already rejected challenges to the court’s right to prosecute Khadr on war crimes.
International conventions to which the United States is a signatory call for rehabilitation for child soldiers instead of prosecution, but officials said they were not applicable here.
Also, the military judge presiding over the case, Army Col. Patrick Parrish, has dismissed defense motions to exclude reported confessions the youth made to interrogators who used harsh techniques, including threats of rape, in getting him to say he threw the grenade that killed Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer.
Some legal analysts say the war- crimes tribunal was created precisely for prisoners such as Khadr, who was captured after a July 27, 2002, firefight at an al-Qaeda hideout.
Other legal experts, however, contend that the tribunal has no jurisdiction to try Khadr, whatever his age at the time of his alleged crimes.
As for the possibility of a plea deal, it might hinge in part on Canada. Political push-back in Congress has thwarted White House plans to move terrorism suspects from the remote U.S. military compound in southern Cuba to the United States for “preventative detention.”
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been adamant in refusing to accommodate a deal that would send Khadr to his country.
The Khadr family has been a political albatross for the Canadian government for decades, as Khadr’s father, Ahmed, was a high-ranking financier and organizer for al-Qaeda, and he was killed in a clash with Pakistani security forces in 2003.
