Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Khadr's Kangaroo Kourt

Any remaining doubt that the US Government is trying to rig the trial of Omar Khadr evaporated yesterday.

That's when a classified document was mistakenly released to reporters. The document, an eyewitness statement, contradicts the government's position that Khadr had to be responsible for throwing the grenade that exploded, killing a Delta force soldier, because he was the only suspect alive at the time.

Turns out that wasn't quite true. There was a second guy, still lying on his side, moaning, until he was dispatched by a single shot to the head. The witness then spotted Khadr, sitting up but facing away from the soldier. Khadr was then shot twice in the back.

No one saw Khadr throw anything. The government theory was that, since he was the only one alive, he must have thrown the grenade. It seems the US government was quite prepared to run Khadr through a rigged trial, concealing this exculpatory evidence.

I don't have any sympathy for Khadr or his cause but he was a child soldier and the US government is rigging the case against him and - like it or not - he is a Canadian citizen. With this latest revelation, our Furious Leader, if he has a shred of decency in him, ought to be demanding Khadr's immediate release and return to Canada. Who knows what else they've got cooked up to use against him? If there ever was a Kangaroo court, this is it.

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