Posted on 05/26/2011 2:21:33 PM PDT by canuck_conservative
NEW YORK — The U.S. military tribunal that oversaw Omar Khadr’s war crimes case has refused his bid for clemency, issuing a statement Thursday that simply confirms the eight-year sentence he received in a plea deal.
Under it, Khadr pleaded guilty last October to five war crimes, among them the murder of a U.S. serviceman during a 2002 firefight in Afghanistan, when the Toronto native was 15. He received a sentence of eight years, with one more to be served in Guantanamo, and seven in a Canadian prison.
The Toronto native had, through his military lawyer, sought to have the sentence reduced, arguing in part that the prosecution had been guilty of “misconduct” regarding the presentation of a key prosecution witness at the October sentencing hearing.
According to a prosecution memorandum obtained by Postmedia News, military prosecutors accused Khadr’s defence of attempting to “rewrite history” in their bid for clemency.
The eight-page document vigorously rebuts defence claims that prosecutors “strong-armed” them into dropping a bid to challenge the credibility of a key prosecution witness, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Michael Welner.
The document argues the prosecution “went to great lengths” to help the defence throughout last October’s sentencing process, which began after Khadr agreed to plead guilty to the five war crimes he faced — among them, murder.
It was the second legal setback Khadr received this week.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday finally ruled on whether to hear a years-old bid by Khadr to have a part of his case reviewed.
A majority of Supreme Court justices denied the review petition, which was wrapped in with similar claims by other terror suspects held at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The Khadr ruling was a moot point because the 26-year-old’s forfeiture of his claims ....
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalpost.com ...
First the guy gets a good plea deal whereby he can get out of Gitmo and serve his sentence in a nice, soft Canadian prison - then he instantly turns around and asks for a reduction in the sentence he just voluntarily agreed to!!
Like one of the NP posters said, so far he's only been charged by the US .... now it's Canada's turn to charge him with treason!
For your reading also.
Is the traitorous Khadr family still collecting welfare in Ontario?
One more year in Gitmo and the rest of the sentence ending in seven years, or ten minutes after an NDP/Liberal government takes power in Canada. Whichever comes first.
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