Convicted murderer and former terrorist Omar Khadr is asking a judge to cancel the remainder of his eight year sentence.
Khadr, 32, has been living under generous bail conditions in Alberta for the last three years while he appeals his sentence.
His lawyers are arguing that had he not been out on bail, his sentence would have expired by now.
In 2010, a U.S. military commission sentenced him to eight years for war crimes committed in Afghanistan while fighting against Canada and our allies alongside the Taliban.
While originally sentenced at Guantanamo Bay Prison, Khadr was moved to a Canadian prison in 2012.
In 2015, a Canadian judge approved his release on bail pending his appeal in the U.S. Technically, the clock stopped ticking on his sentence and he still has three years left to go.
Had Khadr served out his full sentence, he would have been released in October of 2018.
Despite still having three years left to serve, Khadr wants the youth court to simply terminate that sentence.
“The youth court judge does have the authority to just simply terminate the sentence and say, ‘It’s now over’,” said his lawyer Nate Whitling.
This may not be the case, however, since Khadr was moved to Canada to serve his sentence through an international treaty, and it isn’t clear if the provincial court can constitutionally nullify such an agreement.
Khadr, a Canadian citizen by birth, grew up in an “al Qaeda family” and was captured in Afghanistan alongside the Taliban. He was found guilty of terrorism and war crimes by a U.S. military commission as an alleged al Qaeda fighter.
In 2012, Khadr pleaded guilty to killing U.S. Army Medic Sgt. Christopher Speer in Afghanistan. Because of this plea bargain, he was moved to a Canadian prison.
He later changed his mind and is now appealing his U.S. conviction.
Khadr also sued the Canadian government, claiming that his charter rights were not upheld during interrogations with visiting Canadian officials at Guantanamo Bay.
In 2017, the Canadian government quietly issued an apology and awarded Khadr with $10.5 million for how he was treated at Guantanamo Bay, despite not being required to do so by law.
A judge will hear Khadr’s application later this month.
