Responding to the news that Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr had been returned to Canada Saturday morning, the NDP and Liberal parties said they are happy he is back in the country but troubled by how long it took to bring him home.
On Saturday, Khadr returned to Canada from the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and was transferred to a maximum security facility in eastern Ontario. Khadr had been detained in the prison since 2002.
The 26-year-old, who pleaded guilty to charges of war crimes in 2010, will serve the remainder of his eight year sentence at the Millhaven Institution, in Bath, Ont.
Khadr鈥檚 transfer comes after a years of legal wrangling by his lawyers and negotiations between the U.S. and Canada, with opposition parties persistently criticizing the Conservative government for resisting Khadr鈥檚 repatriation.
Liberal leader Bob Rae issued a statement regarding Khadr鈥檚 repatriation on Saturday, calling his return 鈥渓ong overdue.鈥�
鈥淢r. Khadr, a Canadian citizen, was a child soldier. It is extremely unfortunate that it took the Conservative government this long to fulfil its responsibility to bring him back to Canada. Now Mr. Khadr will serve the remainder of his sentence under the supervision of the Canadian correctional system, and we can ensure that he receives proper treatment and rehabilitation,鈥� said the statement.
NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Paul Dewar told 麻豆影视 Channel Khadr should have been returned to Canada a long time ago and that Conservative 鈥渇oot dragging鈥� and 鈥渟tubbornness鈥� had caused the delay.
鈥淢r. Khadr was the only Western citizen left in Guantanamo. And that鈥檚 because other countries, Australia for instance and others, had repatriated their citizens back to their countries,鈥� said Dewar.
鈥淲e had not done that, we had foot dragged. We鈥檇 frankly been pushed in the end by the Americans to take him back.鈥�
Dewar said he believes the Conservatives finally relented after U.S. officials ramped up the pressure to return Khadr to Canada.
鈥淭he Conservatives were very stubborn on this, not living up to their responsibility to deal with one of our citizens,鈥� said Dewar.
Dewar said that Khadr鈥檚 prolonged detainment in Guantanamo Bay has already been established as a human rights violation and that now the government should explain why they resisted bringing him back to Canada.
鈥淭he question now is, what鈥檚 the government鈥� s explanation for having waited so long to have him come home?鈥� he said.
鈥淛ust what was it that made the government so intransigent on this issue? That鈥檚 going to be an issue for the next number of months for us to delve into,鈥� he said.
Khadr: a symbol of excessive government response
Meanwhile, human rights advocates and groups are also weighing in on Khadr鈥檚 delayed return.
鈥淥mar Khadr鈥檚 case really became a symbol of the excessive government responses to terrorism of the last decade and all the civil liberties abuses that have occurred around the world,鈥� said human rights lawyer Paul Champ.
Champ told 麻豆影视 Channel that the case, which saw the then 15-year-old Khadr sent to a U.S. detention and interrogation facility in Guantanamo Bay, is an example of the willingness of governments to violate human rights in the name of public safety.
The controversial base at Guantanamo Bay, commonly called 鈥楪itmo鈥�, has been the target of human rights groups who want it shut down due to concerns of human rights violations, inhumane treatment and torture.
Champ called Gitmo 鈥渁 notorious prison regarded as a legal black hole.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 been loaded with symbolism for the Canadian government,鈥� said Champ. 鈥淭hey used his case as a way to show that they鈥檙e tough on terrorism, but I think, unfortunately, it鈥檚 just shown that they鈥檙e very weak on human rights.鈥�
Champ said court decisions in both the U.S. and Canada have found that Khadr鈥檚 human rights had been violated, including two decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada.
However the Canadian government resisted U.S. pressure to repatriate Khadr, citing continuing safety concerns.
And while the public remained largely divided on the controversial case, the facts show that Khadr had a history of mistreatment since he was a young child, said Champ.
Khadr鈥檚 father is Ahmed Said Khadr, an Egyptian-born Canadian who had alleged ties to al Qaeda. The young Khadr spent a large part of his life in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
鈥淚f you look at the history of his treatment, everyone will see that every adult who鈥檚 had contact with Mr. Khadr since he was about five or six had a hand in abusing him in my view,鈥� said Champ.
Champ said that members of the human rights community, politicians and members of the general public have long understood the political dynamics of the Khadr case.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of politicians who stand up for civil liberties who clearly understood what his case, Mr. Khadr鈥檚 case was about. I think significant portions of the population in both countries understood what his case was about,鈥� he said.
鈥淥ver the next five to 10 years we鈥檒l be able to get the distance to really understand what happened.鈥�
Also on Saturday, the U.S. based Center for Constitutional Rights applauded Omar Khadr鈥檚 return to Canada.
In a statement issued on Saturday, CCR legal director Baher Azmy said 鈥淥mar Khadr鈥檚 transfer to Canada ends one of the ugliest chapters in the decade-long history of Guantanamo.鈥�
Azmy argued that Khadr should never have been imprisoned at Guantanamo, given his young age at the time of his capture.
鈥淜hadr never should have been brought to Guantanamo. He was a child of fifteen at the time he was captured, and his subsequent detention and prosecution for purported war crimes was unlawful, as was his torture by U.S. officials,鈥� read the statement.
Azmy urged Canada to release him immediately and help him transition into civilian life by providing him with counselling and education.
The statement urged U.S. President Barack Obama to shut down the facility at Guantanamo Bay.
