Pentagon Appeals Ruling that Threw Out
Charges of Guantanamo Detainee Khadr

SHELDON ALBERTS / CanWest News Service 6jul2007

[Also see The Unending Torture of Omar Khadr - Rolling Stone 24aug2006]

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Friday formally appealed a military judge's decision last month to throw out terror charges against Canadian Omar Khadr, a legal move that came as Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay signaled Ottawa's plans to take a hands-off approach to the case.

MacKay, who was in Washington for meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said he raised questions about Khadr's treatment with his American counterpart, but he also made it clear the Canadian government has no plans to protest U.S. plans to put the 20-year-old terror detainee on trial.

"I don't want to jeopardize any legal proceedings that may take place with respect to Mr. Khadr," MacKay said following meetings with Rice at the State Department.

"This is a process that, because of the nature of these allegations, that hasn't run its course."

Khadr has been held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo, Bay, Cuba, since late 2002.

The American military alleges Khadr, then 15, threw a grenade that killed U.S. army Sgt. Christopher Speer during a firefight in southern Afghanistan in July 2002. It has also accused the Toronto-born detainee of spying on American forces, planting roadside bombs and training with al-Qaida following the 9/11 terror attacks.

The Pentagon's legal case against Khadr was thrown into turmoil last month when a military judge, marine Col. Peter Brownback, dismissed all charges against the Canadian during a war crimes tribunal hearing at Guantanamo.

In his ruling, Brownback said U.S. military commissions lacked jurisdiction to put Khadr on trial because he had not been formally designated an "unlawful enemy combatant" as required by law.

Brownback last week refused to hear a motion to reconsider his decision, prompting the Pentagon on Friday to appeal his ruling to the Court of Military Commissions Review.

"There's really no timeline or timetable for the court to reach any decision," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.

The June ruling in Khadr's case is considered crucial because it draws a distinction between an "enemy combatant" - someone who may be legally allowed to fight against U.S. forces and subject to Geneva Convention rights while in detention - and an "unlawful" combatant who can be tried under the Bush administration's controversial military commissions.

"We've obviously expressed our interest with respect to his treatment, his well being, his access to legal counsel, as well as education materials which he has expressed an interest in having," MacKay said.

He declined to say whether the Canadian government believed Khadr could receive a fair trial, but said Ottawa has "been given assurances that he will have due process."

source: 10jul2007

Army Judge Affirms Ruling to
Dismiss Gitmo Charges

CNN 2jul2007

WASHINGTON — A military judge on Friday rejected the Pentagon's request to reinstate previously dismissed charges against a prisoner accused of killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan in 2001, officials said.

Judge Army Col. Peter Brownback dropped the charges against Canadian detainee Omar Khadr last month on the grounds Brownback's court lacked the jurisdiction to try him.

Khadr was 15 when he was arrested.

The inability to prosecute centered on Khadr not being labeled an "unlawful" enemy combatant.

Last month, Brownback said new congressional rules on trying detainees specify that a detainee must be designated an "unlawful enemy combatant."

Pentagon officials would not release Brownback's most recent decision, but said he ruled the prosecution had presented no new evidence or arguments to change his mind.

The prosecution has five days to appeal to the Court of Military Commissions Review in Washington.

"We are disappointed with the judge's decision in this matter," the Pentagon said.

Last month, a second military judge at Guantanamo who heard a case against the alleged driver for Osama bin Laden, Salim Hamdan, also followed Brownback's decision to drop the charges. The judge's ruling used the same rationale.

The Pentagon has requested a review of the decision, but a ruling has not yet been issued.

source: 10jul2007