Canadian-born Omar Khadr, a former Guantanamo Bay inmate, was granted bail on Friday, Canada’s CBC News reported.
An Alberta judge gave 28-year-old Khadr, who was previously transferred from Guantanamo Bay to a prison in the Canadian province of Alberta, his first taste of freedom since he was 15, when the US military caught him in Afghanistan.
Omar Khadr granted bail. God is great. God is Just A child did not deserve to spend half his life locked away pic.twitter.com/vbWUgYfWTZ
— Śtëvîe- Salahuddin (@panadriam) 24 апреля 2015
Khadr will have to wait until May 5, when a hearing will decide the conditions of his release.
Nathan Whitling, one of his lawyers, said in an interview:
“We’re very happy with the decision and we’re glad to be back in Canada where there are real courts and real laws, rather than in Guantanamo Bay.”
Lawyers argued that Toronto-born Khadr was a model prisoner who poses no threat to the community. Several prominent residents of Edmonton, Alberta offered their support for Khard’s bail application.
Shortly after the bail decision was announced, the federal government of Canada said it would appeal the decision ruled by Alberta judge June Ross.
Canadian Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Steven Blaney commented on the decision Friday:
“Our government will continue to work to combat the international jihadi movement, which has declared war on Canada and her allies.”
This is Sgt First Class Layne Morris. He's a green beret. His optic nerve was destroyed by Omar Khadr. pic.twitter.com/FatFkgRIGI
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) 24 апреля 2015
Khadr has been in custody since he was arrested in Afghanistan and sent to Guantanamo Bay in 2012. Khadr pleaded guilty to serious offences, including the murder of American army medic Sgt. Christopher Speer, for which he was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2010. Two years later, Khadr was transferred to Canada, where he had to serve the rest of his sentence.
