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| Protesting Omar Khadr's military commission in 2010 |
For
immediate release: Friday 8 May 2015
Activists
from the London Guantánamo Campaign [1] welcome the release on bail, in Canada,
of Canadian former Guantánamo child prisoner Omar Khadr [2] on Thursday 7 May,
under strict conditions [3]. This is pending his appeal of his 2010
conviction for war crimes, obtained through a secret plea bargain in the
widely-discredited Guantánamo military commission procedure.
As the only
person since World War II to be tried as an adult for offences alleged
committed as a minor before a military tribunal , the London Guantánamo
Campaign has always maintained that Omar Khadr is a child soldier and should
never have been subject to such proceedings, let alone held at Guantánamo Bay.
The London
Guantánamo Campaign has campaigned consistently for his release since he became
the first Guantánamo prisoner to be charged and brought to trial before the
revised military commissions system under President Obama in 2009. Our
activities for Omar Khadr have included:
·
holding the only
demonstration in solidarity with his case when his military commission was
ongoing in 2010,
·
speaking on a special panel
about his case at Amnesty International UK in 2012 [4],
·
highlighting his plight as
part of events to mark 11 years of Guantánamo Bay in early 2013,
·
and in conjunction with a
number of organisations and universities in the UK and the Free Omar Khadr Now
Campaign, hosting a speaking tour with his lawyer Dennis Edney QC in March 2014
[5] to raise awareness of his case beyond Canada .
Aisha
Maniar, organiser from the London Guantánamo Campaign, says, “Omar Khadr is the
boy who became a man at Guantánamo Bay. His case, particularly given the
vulnerabilities presented by his age at the time, demonstrates some of the
worst brutalities wantonly committed in the name of the so-called War on
Terror. The actions of the Canadian government since 2002 also highlight the
proactive role the US’s allies have played in flouting international law and committing
human rights violations.
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| Protesting Omar Khadr's military commission in 2010 |
“We welcome
Omar Khadr’s release and congratulate him on what is truly a historic day for justice
and everyone who fights for it. The fight to clear his name in the US courts
continues and we will continue to support his quest for justice. We believe
that it is only a matter of time before his conviction is quashed, as in the
case of other former prisoners; evidence procured through torture and conjecture
cannot provide the basis for any conviction, let alone a war crimes conviction.
We look forward to the day that Omar Khadr is fully vindicated.”
ENDS
NOTES TO
EDITORS
1. The London Guantánamo Campaign was set
up in 2006 and campaigns for justice for all prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, for
the closure of this and other secret prisons, and an end to the practice of
extraordinary rendition. http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com
2. For more details
on Omar Khadr’s case, please visit www.freeomar.ca
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