Omar Khadr thanked the courts for releasing him and his lawyers for working for
years on his behalf.
Posted May 09, 2015
EDMONTON—A relaxed and articulate Omar Khadr
thanked the Canadian public, apologized for any pain he had caused, and
asked on his first night of freedom that he be given a chance to prove
himself.
The 28-year-old said he was still “in a bit of
shock” about his release Thursday.
“Freedom is way better than I thought.”
When asked if he had any comment for Prime
Minister Stephen Harper, whose government has fought to keep Khadr detained,
he replied: “I’m going to have to disappoint him. I’m not the person he
thinks I am.”
Khadr made his statements to the press outside the
home of his lawyer Dennis Edney, where he will live while on bail.
A few neighbours who had come to watch his press
conference shouted, “welcome,” as he spoke.
JASON FRANSON / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Omar Khadr, left, his lawyer Dennis Edney,
right, and Edney's wife Patricia Edney come out of their Edmonton
home to speak to media. Khadr will stay with the Edneys as pat of
his bail conditions.
Khadr also thanked Edney and lawyer Nathan
Whitling, who have represented Khadr since 2003, despite the financial and
personal cost. This was the day they had waited for — a day that began 12
hours earlier at Edney and his wife Patricia’s home in an affluent Edmonton
suburb.
Once more, they prepared Khadr’s room, hoping they
would bring Khadr home but also expecting to return alone.
Indeed, just two days ago their hopes had been crushed
when the court decided to keep Khadr in prison for 48 hours while Justice
Myra Bielby carefully considered Khadr’s bail options.
“I have no idea what to expect,” Edney said before
entering the courthouse.
Michelle Shephard/Toronto Star
After being freed on bail in Edmonton on
Thursday, Omar Khadr enjoyed lunch with his lawyer Dennis Edney.
As Bielby read her ruling it was still uncertain
which way she would rule on the historic case. But as she neared the end,
she said the federal government’s argument about causing “irreparable harm”
to diplomatic relations if Khadr was released was “mere speculation.”
Whitling glanced at Khadr and gave him a thumbs
up. Bielby then paused before saying: “Mr. Khadr,
you’re free to go.”
With those words, Bielby turned down the federal
government’s last-ditch effort to keep Khadr detained. Khadr’s supporters in
the courtroom erupted in cheers.
Khadr said nothing but a wide smile spread across
his face. He shook Edney’s hand. “We’ve done it,” Edney told him as Patricia
broke down in tears.
Whitling, the first to appear outside court, told
reporters: “Whatever anybody might think of Mr. Khadr, he has now served his
time.”
Bielby noted in her ruling that Khadr had served
12 years for a crime he allegedly committed as a young offender. In Canada,
the maximum sentence for youths is six years.
Ottawa’s condemnation of Khadr’s release was
swift.
Tanya Talaga/Toronto Star
Lawyer Dennis Edney, left, and his client
Omar Khadr, share a laugh before the national news media on
Thursday, the first day of Khadr's release from prison in 12 years.
“We are disappointed by the decision of the court
because we feel that victims should be considered in the decisions,” Public
Safety Minster Steven Blaney said at a press conference.
Blaney said legal procedures against Khadr are
“still underway,” although Ottawa cannot appeal this loss to the Supreme
Court of Canada.
In an earlier statement, he had said: “Omar Khadr
pleaded guilty to heinous crimes, including the murder of American army
medic Sgt. Christopher Speer. By his own admission, as reported in the
media, his ideology has not changed.”
It was not clear what Blaney was referring to — a
report released this week by a federal government psychologist said the
contrary.
In his address to reporters, Edney blasted the
minister.
Tanya Talaga/Toronto Star
Omar Khadr, 28, glances over to the media
cameras camped out at his new home in an affluenct Edmonton suburb,
before he gave a statement to Canadians.
“Well, let me say to these guys: why don’t they
get a camera and sit with me and challenge me and show me just how stupid I
am. Show me and prove to the Canadian public that whatever I have said about
Omar Khadr is not true,” Edney said.
“We had a young boy at 15 dropped into an
abandoned house by his father and we give him no mercy. I would love to take
Mr. Blaney on and perhaps he could learn some information.”
Edney noted that Canada was the only Western
government to not request the repatriation of its citizens from the U.S.
prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“We left a child, a Canadian child, to suffer
torture. We participated in this torture,” he said.
Then Edney turned his sights on Prime Minister
Stephen Harper.
“My view is very clear:
Mr. Harper is a bigot. Mr. Harper doesn’t like Muslims,” he said. “I
once said publicly to Mr. Harper, ‘When you put your children to bed, ask
yourself if you would like your children abused like Omar Khadr.’
“He wants to show he is tough on crime and who
does he pick on? A 15-year-old boy who was picked up and put in the hellhole
of Guantanamo.”
A few hours after his lawyers spoke to the press,
Khadr took his first steps of freedom with Edney and Whitling, escaping the
media scrutiny for a short walk along a quiet road.
The three later shared lunch, unnoticed by other
diners with the exception of one woman, who approached Omar to shake his
hand.
“We’re happy to have you out,” she said as Khadr
smiled and thanked her for her support.
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