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omar khadr
Viral Facebook Post Rips Right-Wing Arguments Against Omar Khadr Settlement
"Do you believe that you, as a Canadian, have the right to be presumed innocent, until proven guilty, as well as the right to a fair and quick trial?"
Jul 12, 2017
A Canadian entrepreneur has some striking words for right-wing politicians, pundits, and citizens who have argued that the Canadian government's decision to settle with and apologize to Omar Khadr--a Canadian citizen who was detained by the United States at age 15 and subsequently spent 10 years at Guantanamo--is tantamount to compensating "a terrorist."
In a recent Facebook post that quickly went viral, Ben Feral Selinger confronted those denouncing the settlement, calling their arguments "willfully ignorant and hypocritical."
Following the introduction of crucial background information--like the fact that Khadr was detained for years without charge, denied access to a lawyer, and tortured--Selinger highlighted the hypocrisy of those who presume Khadr is guilty of the charges leveled against him despite the fact that there was no fair trial.
"Do you believe that you, as a Canadian, have the right to be presumed innocent, until proven guilty, as well as the right to a fair and quick trial?" Selinger asked.
Khadr pleaded guilty to a number of charges in 2010, but Canada's Supreme Court later ruled that the guilty plea was obtained under "oppressive circumstances."
"Seriously consider this," Selinger wrote. "Do you believe you have, as a Canadian, the inalienable right to everything laid out in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?"
He continued:
If you do, but still think Khadr does not, because he is a terrorist, let me ask you; "How do you know he is guilty?" There was no trial for 10 years, and he was only offered a trial on the condition that he plead guilty. How do we, as Canadians, determine guilt? Have you read and understood the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? Its entire purpose is precisely to ensure that what happened to Khadr, is not allowed to happen. Period.
Now I know many of you still can't get past the "but he's a traitor so he doesn't deserve a trial" even though neither you, nor me, nor the U.S. or Canadian government were able to provide ANY evidence whatsoever, of his guilt (no evidence was submitted during his trial, presumably because none exists), but that doesn't matter. Let me explain the problem to you.
You are worried that terrorists are trying to take away your freedoms as a Canadian right? They're trying to force their way of life upon us and we as Canadians, won't stand for that right?
Do you see where I'm going here? Presuming Khadr's guilt, with no evidence and without trial, is precisely what the terrorists want to do to Canada. Isn't that your concern? Does it not strike you then, that by saying that Khadr doesn't deserve a fair trial because he is a terrorist, with absolutely no evidence, nor a trial to prove the charges, that you are doing precisely what you are worried the terrorists are trying to do do us? A presumption of guilt, no trial, a decade of detention and torture. Is that not EXACTLY what you are worried terrorists are trying to do to us?
Rights groups celebrated the Canadian government's decision to apologize to Khadr. Amnesty International called the move "welcome and long overdue."
Moazzam Begg, a British man who was compensated by the United Kingdom after being detained and tortured at Guantanamo for close to three years, likewise applauded the settlement.
"The nation shouldn't be upset about issuing an apology for something that's right," Begg said in an interview with The Canadian Press. "If people are getting upset about that, I think they need to revisit what their morals and values are about."
Read Selinger's Facebook post in full:
"Okay, I'm fucking sick of the idiocy and done with writing a diatribe every single time a friend posts about how they're upset that Trudeau is giving a terrorist $10m. You people are.... willfully ignorant and hypocritical. Here's why. (And I thoroughly suggest reading the entire post. If you know me, you know I'm neither stupid, nor an apologist. I am pure fucking science, and this post is such. Read it before making an ass of yourself by posting about how we just gave a terrorist money).
The story (the facts we know).
- Canadian born Khadr was taken to Afghanistan at age 9, by his father. We don't know if he wanted to go, and we don't know why they went. There has been zero evidence put forth to suggest the trip had anything to do with terrorism. Regardless, as he was only 9, he had no choice in the matter.
- Khadr, aged 15, was found in critical condition following a firefight. The mission debrief report filed by the U.S. troops stated that a middle aged man threw a grenade, which killed one US soldier. The grenadier was shot in the head and confirmed killed.
- Khadr was taken to Guantanamo Bay prison. No charges were filed against him at that time.
- Several years later, formal charges were filed. These charges were technically not even charges of war crimes, as if they were true, Khadr would be considered an enemy combatant during a time of war, and thus everything he was accused of doing, was legal under rules of engagement. He was denied access to a lawyer at this point and no trial date was set. He was held in detention and tortured for nearly 10 years.
- Nearly a decade later, an addendum to the original mission debrief was submitted, which identified the grenadier as Khadr by name. The original report was not rescinded. No one knows who made the addendum. No U.S. personnel present during the firefight confirms the addendum. (at least I've not been able to find any).
- A week later, Khadr is offered a plea deal. The terms of the deal were to admit guilt to all charges and serve a few more years in a Canadian prison, or refuse to admit guilt and be denied trial indefinitely. (the latter portion is not confirmed by the U.S. government, but let's be realistic here...)
- Khadr takes the plea deal, is transferred to Canada.
- Khadr sues the Canadian government for their involvement in his illegal detention, torture, and lack of a trial.
All of the above is true as far as anyone knows. That is the official story, from both the Canadian and US governments. They have said straight out that Khadr would not be offered a trial unless he took the plea deal. Just let that sink in for a moment.
Now let me ask you a question.
As a Canadian, what do you stand for? Do you believe that you, as a Canadian, have the right to be presumed innocent, until proven guilty, as well as the right to a fair and quick trial? I know this is hard for many of you to consider without jumping to "oh, but he's a terrorist, so fuck him, he's a traitor and doesn't deserve anything", but we'll get to that in a minute. Seriously consider this. Do you believe you have, as a Canadian, the inalienable right to everything laid out in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
If you do, but still think Khadr does not, because he is a terrorist, let me ask you; "How do you know he is guilty?" There was no trial for 10 years, and he was only offered a trial on the condition that he plead guilty. How do we, as Canadians, determine guilt? Have you read and understood the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? It's entire purpose is precisely to ensure that what happened to Khadr, is not allowed to happen. Period.
Now I know many of you still can't get past the "but he's a traitor so he doesn't deserve a trial" even though neither you, nor me, nor the US or Canadian government were able to provide ANY evidence whatsoever, of his guilt (no evidence was submitted during his trial, presumably because none exists), but that doesn't matter. Let me explain the problem to you.
You are worried that terrorists are trying to take away your freedoms as a Canadian right? They're trying to force their way of life upon us and we as Canadians, won't stand for that right?
Do you see where I'm going here? Presuming Khadr's guilt, with no evidence and without trial, is precisely what the terrorists want to do to Canada. Isn't that your concern? Does it not strike you then, that by saying that Khadr doesn't deserve a fair trial because he is a terrorist, with absolutely no evidence, nor a trial to prove the charges, that you are doing precisely what you are worried the terrorists are trying to do do us? A presumption of guilt, no trial, a decade of detention and torture. Is that not EXACTLY what you are worried terrorists are trying to do to us?
At this point, I don't think any of us should even be concerned about Khadrs innocence or guilt. He is inconsequential at this point. The REAL concern for all Canadians, is that our government denied a Canadian citizen his inalienable rights, guaranteed to him under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They did EXACTLY what you are worried the terrorists are trying to do. If Khadr was guilty, a trial probably would have proven such, so why was he denied a trial?
For your information, the Canadian government did not simply offer up an apology and $10m for no reason. They were sued. Khadr filed a civil suit with the supreme court of Canada, and that court found in favour of Khadr, in that the Canadian government was in breach of Canadian and International law. Over half the money awarded will be going toward legal fees.
Think about it this way. Your government, was just successfully sued for war crimes. Crimes they committed not only against Khadr, but against the entire Canadian public. They assured us that we would all be given a fair trial, but now we know that is not true. They assured us that we will always be presumed innocent until proven guilty. We know that is not true. They took your money, money which could have been spent on building half a hospital or something, and spent it instead, on committing war crimes, and crimes directly against the Charter for which our country stands.
Now I don't know if Khadr is innocent or guilty and I don't know if that money will end up right back in the middle east, but before you get upset about that, I want you to consider this: Had the Canadian government offered Khadr a fair trial, regardless of his guilt, there would have been no civil suit and we'd have $10.5m more Canadian Pesos to spend on Moose shirts, or maple syrup flavoured hockey sticks.
All they had to do, was abide by our own legal doctrine, and this whole mess would have never happened.
In summation:
If you believe Khadr did not deserve a fair and quick trial, you are not Canadian. You do not stand for what Canada stands for. You are saying very clearly, that you don't care about evidence, treating people (who we presume are innocent until proven guilty) with basic decency, or your own or anyone else's right to a fair trial. You are, quite literally, openly supporting about half of Sharia law. You fuckwits."
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Justice for Omar Khadr: Child Detainee to Receive Apology, at Least $10 Million From Canada
The former child prisoner will be compensated for abuses he suffered while he was detained by the US in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.
Jul 04, 2017
Toronto-born Omar Khadr--who was captured by the U.S. military in 2002 when he was just a teenager and held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba--will receive an apology and reportedly $10.5 million ($8 million USD) from the Canadian government for failing to protect him from abuse while he was detained for more than a decade.
Khadr sought $20 million from the Canadian government in a civil suit, and the Toronto Star reports that last month his attorneys met with representatives from Canada's Department of Justice to finalize the settlement details. A federal source told the Globe and Mail that the apology and compensation are expected this week.
Prominent Canadians, activists and newspaper editorial boards have rallied behind Khadr for several years through public statements, visits to MPs, a parliamentary petition, and a letter writing campaign. Following reports of the upcoming apology and compensation, Laura Pitter, senior national security counsel at Human Rights Watch, tweeted: "This is fantastic news! Hope it sends signal to US about healing power of apology, redress." Journalist Glenn Greenwald said on Twitter: "At least Canada pays & apologizes for its gross abuses. US courts have shamefully refused all suits, citing secrecy."
CBC Radio-Canada shared the reactions of human rights groups:
"For 15 years Omar Khadr's case has been a stark reminder of the many ways that an overreaching and unchecked approach to national security readily runs roughshod over universally protected human rights," said Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada.
Neve said Khadr's rights were violated or ignored in Afghanistan, at Guantanamo Bay and in Canadian prisons, and that U.S. interrogators, jailors and officials refused to recognize him as a child soldier.
The previous Conservative government offered "inflammatory rhetoric" instead of making an effort to help him, Neve said.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims said it would welcome a "long overdue" apology and compensation.
"It is the right decision in light of the callous and unlawful treatment meted out to Mr. Khadr with the complicity of Canadian officials," NCCM executive director Ihsaan Gardee said in a news release.
Addressing reporters from Dublin on Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: "There is a judicial process underway that has been underway for a number of years now and we are anticipating, like I think a number of people are, that that judicial process is coming to its conclusion." Trudeau, who has garnered criticism for his silence on the topic, did not comment on the compensation.
Once the youngest detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Khadr, now 30, says he suffered various abuses--including beatings, sleep deprivation, rape threats, and being forced to urinate on himself--during at least 142 interrogations in Afghanistan and Guantanamo.
Khadr's defense team has maintained that he was pushed into fighting by his father, Ahmed Said Khadr, a supposed associate of Osama bin Laden who was killed in 2003. Khadr was shot and captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in July 2002, at the age of 15, after a firefight. He was accused of throwing the grenade that killed Delta Force Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer, though those charges were never proven. After being detained and interrogated at a U.S. prison in Bagram, Afghanistan, for three months, Khadr was transferred to Guantanamo Bay, where he remained for 10 years.
In 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Canadian officials had interrogated Khadr under "oppressive circumstances"--after three weeks of sleep deprivation while in U.S. custody--then shared evidence with U.S. officials, which "offends the most basic Canadian standards about the treatment of detained youth suspects." However, the court also ruled that it could not force the Canadian government to request that the U.S. send Khadr back to Canada.
The Bush administration, and then the Obama administration, fought to convict Khadr of war crimes. As part of a Pentagon plea deal that capped his sentence at eight years and would allow Khadr to return to Canada after serving some time in the U.S., he told a Guantanamo Bay military commission that he threw the grenade and pled guilty to five charges.
Khadr has since has told reporters he is uncertain whether he threw the grenade, and pleaded guilty so he could return to Canada. The Star has published classified photos that suggest the then-teen was buried in rubble when Speer was killed. In 2012, Khadr was transferred to back Canada, where in May 2015 he was released on bail to live with his attorney's family, after nearly 13 years behind bars.
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In New Documentary, Omar Khadr Speaks for Himself
In filmed interview, Khadr talks about the torture he endured before and after his transfer from Guantanamo to a Canadian prison
May 28, 2015
Viewers in Canada and beyond are finally getting the chance to hear directly from Omar Khadr, once the youngest detainee at Guantanamo Bay prison, who has spent the last 13 of his 28 years in custody.
Khadr, a Canadian citizen who was 15 when he was shot and captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2002 and sent to Guantanamo Bay, was released on bail earlier this month after a judge in Alberta rejected a final effort by the Canadian government to keep him in jail. Khadr--the first person since World War II to be prosecuted for war crimes committed as a juvenile--will remain free while he appeals his U.S. military conviction.
All along, Toronto Star journalist Michelle Shephard followed Khadr's case. In 2008, she published Guantanamo's Child: the Untold Story of Omar Khadr, and now she has co-directed a documentary that premieres Thursday night on CBC-TV: Omar Khadr: Out of the Shadows.
According to CBC News, Khadr and others talk in the film about the torture he endured before and after his transfer from Guantanamo to a Canadian prison.
He describes how one prisoner would be taken from his cell for a few days and the other inmates would hear constant screaming. "Then he would come back just a destroyed person, so you can only imagine what happened to him."''
Watch exclusive excerpts and CBC coverage below:
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