The youngest inmate at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a Canadian-Egyptian citizen captured on an Afghan battlefield a decade ago when he was 15, was transferred to Canada early Saturday, ending a contentious legal saga.
Omar Khadr pleaded guilty to charges of murder and other war crimes in October 2010 as part of a deal with prosecutors, who agreed to allow him to serve most of his sentence in his native Canada.
Khadr’s age when he was arrested and allegations of torture by U.S. interrogators made his one of the most controversial detainee cases in the post-Sept. 11 era. The United Nations criticized his prosecution, arguing that children should not be tried for war crimes.
His plea deal stipulated that Khadr, now 26, would serve an eight-year sentence, including at least one year in U.S. custody. It took the Obama administration and the Canadian government twice that long to agree on the terms of his incarceration in Canada. Under Canadian law, Khadr could be eligible for early release after serving one-third of his sentence.
“The United States coordinated with the government of Canada regarding appropriate security and humane treatment measures,” the Pentagon said in a statement Saturday announcing the transfer. Khadr’s release reduced Guantanamo’s inmate population to 166.
“Omar Khadr’s repatriation provides an opportunity for Canada to begin to right a wrong,” Andrea Prasow, an attorney at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
Khadr was taken into custody after sustaining serious wounds during a firefight in July 2002 in eastern Afghanistan. He was initially held at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.
