Ex-Guantanamo detainee to appeal US conviction from Canada

Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen who was held under US custody at Guantanamo Bay for 10 years, is appealing the terrorism charges against him in US civilian courts, according to the Associated Press. 

Khadr, convicted on murder, terrorism and spying charges, was moved from Guantanamo to a detention center in Canada as part of a plea deal last year, said Canada's Globe and Mail. 

His lawyer, Dennis Edney, told AP that his 26-year-old client is “looking forward” to the suit and expects to file “very soon.”

Khadr's lawyers told The Globe and Mail they anticipate Khadr’s conviction will be overturned like those of two other Guantanamo detainees, Ali Hamza Bahlul and Salim Hamdan, both of whom successfully appealed their convictions in US courts.

Difference being, Khadr pled guilty to the charges against him back in 2010, said The Globe and Mail, listing "murder in violation of the law of war, attempted murder in violation of the law of war, conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism and spying."

However, a US federal court could still accept the case on the grounds that the alleged crimes may not violate international law, said Sam Morison, who is leading a team of lawyers for Pentagon’s Office of the Chief Defense Counsel. 

“In our view there are serious questions about the validity of all these convictions,” Morison told The Globe and Mail, adding: “As the law now stands, I don’t see how his convictions can be affirmed" because, he said, "[n]ot only weren't they war crimes at the time of their commission but, I would argue, none of them are crimes today, not in international law."

Khadr's father is also believed to have provided al Qaeda with financial support, according to AP.