Repatriate Guantanamo video teen: Amnesty



  • Text resize label
  • Decrease font size
  • Increase font size


LONDON, July 15, 2008 (AFP) - A Canadian man seen crying on an interrogation video from the US detention camp Guantanamo Bay should be repatriated to his home country immediately, Amnesty International said Tuesday.

Terror suspect Omar Khadr begged for help as he was questioned at the naval base on Cuba in the very first video glimpse of any such questioning, shown on Tuesday.

'The treatment of Omar Khadr throughout his detention violates the USA's obligations under international law, which requires that in all actions concerning children the best interests of the child must be a primary consideration,' Amnesty said.

'The US has violated international standards by refusing to recognise Omar Khadr's status as a minor and treating him accordingly,' said the London-based human rights group in a statement.

He has been held there since his arrest in 2002, when he was 15 years old, and faces an upcoming US military commission on terrorism charges.

The video was released by attorneys for Khadr, who is shown being interrogated by Canadian Security Intelligence Service agents in February, 2003.

Khadr is the youngest detainee at Guantanamo, accused of killing a US soldier in a firefight in Afghanistan.

He faces trial by a special military tribunal in October.

'No one who was a child at the time of their alleged crime should be tried by military commissions, which have no juvenile justice provisions whatsoever,' Amnesty said.

'Khadr should either be repatriated and tried in Canada by an ordinary court or released.'



Average rating
(0 votes)