Canada Asks Court to Grant Terror Suspect's Extradition
The Canadian government has asked the country's Supreme Court to allow the extradition to the United States of Abdullah Khadr, who is suspected of supplying arms to al-Qaida, his lawyer said Saturday.
Defense attorney Dennis Edney attributed the action to U.S. pressure, and said he was "surprised" by the government's attempt to involve the country's highest court.
There had been a "strong and resounding" ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal in May, he said, which upheld an earlier decision to suspend the extradition originally ordered by a judge in August last year.
"I can only consider this is under pressure once again from the American government," he added, citing documents published by the whistleblower site WikiLeaks that revealed the Canadian government was previously acting in Kahdr's case under encouragement from the United States.
Abdullah Khadr is the older brother of Omar Khadr, the only Canadian currently detained at the U.S. prison base, Guantanamo.
The government said they were acting according to their international obligations in the fight against terrorism, according to Canadian media reports.
Khadr was released from prison in August 2010 after Canadian courts ruled that statements he made to U.S. and Canadian authorities while he was detained in Pakistan about supplying guns to al-Qaida, were obtained through torture.
Source: Agence France Presse
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