Next week, on Tuesday 10 August, 23-year old Canadian Omar Khadr, who has spent over a quarter of his life illegally detained at Guantánamo Bay, will become the first person to be tried at Guantánamo under the Obama administration and the first person to be tried for offences allegedly committed as a child (when aged 15) anywhere in the world in over 60 years. International law considers child soldiers like Omar Khadr to be victims and not criminals and in practice is against any form of trial for them.
Take action for Omar Khadr:
Next week, on Tuesday 10 August, 23-year old Canadian Omar Khadr, who has spent over a quarter of his life illegally detained at Guantánamo Bay, will become the first person to be tried at Guantánamo under the Obama administration and the first person to be tried for offences allegedly committed as a child (when aged 15) anywhere in the world in over 60 years. International law considers child soldiers like Omar Khadr to be victims and not criminals and in practice is against any form of trial for them.
In a case which clearly shows how flawed and unfair the legal process at Guantánamo Bay is, a case in Germany against Nazi suspect Samuel Kunz, now aged 88, accused of involvement in the killing of over 400,000 Jews in Belzec will be heard before a youth court as he was 20 at the time. Omar Khadr has never been treated as a child at Guantánamo Bay; he has been denied the right to an education, beaten and tortured and denied adequate medical and legal provision.
The evidence against Omar Khadr is tenuous at best with even an interrogator admitting at a pre-trial hearing that he had been threatened with rape and death to get him to comply and confess. Leaked Pentagon documents have also revealed that he is unlikely to have been involved in the offences he is alleged to have committed in Afghanistan.
Rather than assisting its own citizen and repatriating him, the Canadian government, amid much international criticism, has consistently blocked his return to the country. Omar Khadr has himself described the military commission as a "sham" and has tried to boycott it. His upcoming commission has been condemned by the UN and other international bodies for human rights and the rights of children.
The London Guantánamo Campaign (LGC) asks everyone to take action for Omar Khadr:
1 – Join the LGC demonstration for Omar Khadr outside the US Embassy in London on Friday 6 August at 5-7pm to protest his military commission next week.[The US Embassy is in Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1AE and the nearest underground is Bond Street or Marble Arch]
2 – Sign the LGC petition for Omar Khadr which we will deliver to the US Embassy at the demonstration on Friday 6 August:
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/38137.html
3 – Take part in the Amnesty USA action by writing to President Obama and the US Defense Department and demand that they end this process: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/c.goJTI0OvElH/b.953489/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?ievent=109623&action=14560&template=x.ascx
London Guantánamo Campaign
london.gtmo[at[gmail.com
Next week, on Tuesday 10 August, 23-year old Canadian Omar Khadr, who has spent over a quarter of his life illegally detained at Guantánamo Bay, will become the first person to be tried at Guantánamo under the Obama administration and the first person to be tried for offences allegedly committed as a child (when aged 15) anywhere in the world in over 60 years. International law considers child soldiers like Omar Khadr to be victims and not criminals and in practice is against any form of trial for them.
In a case which clearly shows how flawed and unfair the legal process at Guantánamo Bay is, a case in Germany against Nazi suspect Samuel Kunz, now aged 88, accused of involvement in the killing of over 400,000 Jews in Belzec will be heard before a youth court as he was 20 at the time. Omar Khadr has never been treated as a child at Guantánamo Bay; he has been denied the right to an education, beaten and tortured and denied adequate medical and legal provision.
The evidence against Omar Khadr is tenuous at best with even an interrogator admitting at a pre-trial hearing that he had been threatened with rape and death to get him to comply and confess. Leaked Pentagon documents have also revealed that he is unlikely to have been involved in the offences he is alleged to have committed in Afghanistan.
Rather than assisting its own citizen and repatriating him, the Canadian government, amid much international criticism, has consistently blocked his return to the country. Omar Khadr has himself described the military commission as a "sham" and has tried to boycott it. His upcoming commission has been condemned by the UN and other international bodies for human rights and the rights of children.
The London Guantánamo Campaign (LGC) asks everyone to take action for Omar Khadr:
1 – Join the LGC demonstration for Omar Khadr outside the US Embassy in London on Friday 6 August at 5-7pm to protest his military commission next week.[The US Embassy is in Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1AE and the nearest underground is Bond Street or Marble Arch]
2 – Sign the LGC petition for Omar Khadr which we will deliver to the US Embassy at the demonstration on Friday 6 August:
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/38137.html 3 – Take part in the Amnesty USA action by writing to President Obama and the US Defense Department and demand that they end this process:
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/c.goJTI0OvElH/b.953489/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?ievent=109623&action=14560&template=x.ascx London Guantánamo Campaign
london.gtmo[at[gmail.com
e-mail:
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Text of The Petition
05.08.2010 08:08
Dear Ambassador Louis Susman,
I would like to express my outrage regarding the imminent military tribunal for Omar Khardr, a 23-year old Canadian national who has been held in Guantánamo since October 2002. During the 8 years he spent growing up in Guantánamo, Omar has been tortured and abused. He was accused of throwing a grenade at US soldiers in Afghanistan in July 2002, killing one soldier, and other war crimes.
Are you aware that Omar Khadr is to become the first person since Nuremberg to be put on trial for offences allegedly committed as a minor (he was 15 at the time)? Do you know that even Samuel Kunz, the alleged Nazi death camp guard who is accused of participating in the murder of over 430,000 Jews in Belzec, is being tried in a youth court in Germany as he was under 21 at the time the crimes were committed. Surely you can agree that Omar Khadr's case deserves at least the same amount of consideration to international law and norms regarding the treatment of minors in criminal cases.
Omar's military commission has been condemned by the United Nations Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflicts, the head of UNICEF, international NGOs and others. Although international law does not expressly prohibit the prosecution of child soldiers, it limits it considerably and does not allow for a life sentence, which Omar Khadr faces. International law views child soldiers as victims and not criminals. With over 300,000 child soldiers estimated in various conflicts worldwide, the precedent that could be set by this trial is truly dangerous and could compromise the safety of millions of other children around the world caught up in armed conflicts.
As U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, I urge you to press your government to stop violating Omar Khadr’s human rights immediately and to:
• Drop military commission proceedings against Omar Khadr.
• Ensure that he is either released and repatriated to Canada or tried by a civilian court in conformity with international standards.
• Ensure that he is treated in accordance with U.S. obligations under international law, particularly given that he was 15 when he was detained.
Omar has been unlawfully detained by the U.S. for eight years, since the age of 15. By law, every person has the right to a fair trial and the right to be free from torture, and children have special rights until the age of 18.
It is time that the Obama Administration finally drew a line under the gross violations of human rights and international law that were common place under his predecessor. He can start by ensuring that Omar Khadr finally gets the justice he deserves.
LGC