GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba, (Reuters) – A U.S. war crimes tribunal yesterday sentenced Canadian captive Omar Khadr to 40 years in prison for charges that include murdering an American soldier in battle but his plea agreement capped his sentence at eight years.
That means the Toronto native will only serve eight more years, in addition to the eight he has already been held at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. naval base.
The Canadian was 15 years old when captured in Afghanistan in 2002 and is now 24. He is the first person since World War Two to be prosecuted in a war crimes tribunal for acts committed as a juvenile.
The plea deal calls for him to be sent home to Canada after one more year at Guantanamo, although “The decision on that is solely up to the Canadian government,” the judge said.Diplomatic notes exchanged between Washington and Ottawa gave assurances that would happen, Khadr’s lawyers have said previously.
Khadr pleaded guilty on Monday to all five charges against him, including conspiring with al Qaeda to commit terrorist acts and making bombs to target U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Tabitha Speer, the widow of the U.S. soldier Khadr admitted killing with a grenade, cheered as the jury’s decision was read in the hilltop courtroom at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. naval base in Cuba.
