VZCZCXRO7697
OO RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHMT RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHOT #0313 1132039
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 232039Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9360
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000313 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM CA
SUBJECT: COURT RULES CANADA MUST SEEK KHADR'S REPATRIATION 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: On April 23, a Federal Court judge ruled that the 
Canadian government's refusal to seek Omar Khadr's repatriation from 
the United States violated his constitutional rights and that the 
government must press the United States to return him to Canada. 
The government may appeal the decision, and is unlikely to seek 
immediate repatriation.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Federal Court Justice James O'Reilly ruled on April 23 that 
"the ongoing refusal" of the Canadian government to request Canadian 
citizen Omar Khadr's repatriation from Guantanamo Bay "offends a 
principle of fundamental justice and violates Mr. Khadr's rights 
under s.7 of the Charter [of Rights]."  (Note:  Section 7 provides 
for the right to life, liberty, and security of the person and the 
right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the 
principles of fundamental justice. End note)  The judge also ruled 
that Canada must present a request to the United States for Khadr's 
repatriation "as soon as practicable." 
 
¶3. (U) Justice O'Reilly cited the following factors relevant to his 
decision: 
 
-- Khadr received no special status as a minor; 
 
-- Khadr's need for medical attention; 
 
-- Khadr's lack of education, access to consular assistance, and 
legal counsel; 
 
-- Khadr's inability to challenge his detention or conditions of 
confinement in a court of law; 
 
-- Khadr's detention in an unfamiliar, remote, and isolated prison, 
with no family contact; and, 
 
-- "the multiplicity of departures from international norms that 
have taken place." 
 
¶4.  (U) Justice O'Reilly concluded that "the principles of 
fundamental justice obliged Canada to protect Mr. Khadr by taking 
appropriate steps to ensure that his treatment accorded with 
international human rights norms."  Although the judge noted that 
the Canadian government had protested some aspects of Khadr's 
treatment at Guantanamo Bay, he found that it had also in part 
condoned his mistreatment when Canadian officials interrogated him 
at the prison in 2004 despite being aware that Khadr had been 
subjected to the so-called "frequent flyer program" treatment 
technique. 
 
¶5. (U) In the parliamentary Question Period shortly after the 
release of the ruling, Prime Minister Harper indicated only that the 
government would review the decision.  Foreign Minister Lawrence 
Cannon, however, commented that the government would "seriously 
examine the possibility of appealing the decision." 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Comment:  While Omar Khadr's continued detention has 
provided the Liberals repeated opportunities to criticize the 
current government, the reality is that the Liberals were no more 
pro-active in seeking his repatriation when they were in power, and 
that the Khadr family as a whole remains politically poisonous to 
the general public.  The Conservatives have little if any political 
capital to lose from sticking to their position of allowing the U.S. 
military's legal process against Khadr to take its course.  The 
government is unlikely to rush to Washington with a formal 
repatriation request, despite the court ruling. 
BREESE