Omar Khadr ‘a model of compliance,’ wants changes to bail conditions; lawyer

EDMONTON —

A lawyer for Omar Khadr says the former Guantanamo Bay detainee is a “model of compliance” and should have his bail conditions loosened.

The 32-year-old Khadr is seeking a Canadian passport to travel to Saudi Arabia and wants permission to speak to his sister.

His lawyer, Nathan Whitling, told an Edmonton court that Khadr’s appeal in the United States hasn’t “moved a single inch” while his client has obeyed all the conditions of his release.

Whitling added that the court should reduce the conditions on Khadr’s freedom as much as possible.

Khadr spent years in U-S detention at Guantanamo Bay after he was caught at age 15 and accused of tossing a grenade that killed special forces soldier Christopher Speer at a militant compound in Afghanistan in 2002.

Whitling told the court Khadr has now been out on bail so long and has an impeccable record.

Khadr wants to perform the Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

It’s a mandatory religious duty for Muslims once in their lifetime.

Khadr would also like to be able to speak on the phone or over Skype to his sister Zaynab Khadr, who has spoken in favour of al-Qaida and was investigated in Canada more than a decade ago for helping the terrorist network, but was never charged.

The rules of Khadr’s bail allow him to meet with her but only in the presence of his bail supervisor or one of his lawyers.

Justice June Ross has reserved her decision.

She told the court there are enough unprecedented aspects to this application that she’s going to take some time to think about it.

The Canadian Press