This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/19/omar-khadr-engaged-human-rights-activist-guantanamo
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Omar Khadr engaged to human rights activist who helped in Gitmo release | Omar Khadr engaged to human rights activist who helped in Gitmo release |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Nearly a year after his release from prison, Omar Khadr – the Canadian who was once one of Guantánamo Bay’s youngest prisoners – is engaged to be married to a human rights activist who helped fight for his release. | Nearly a year after his release from prison, Omar Khadr – the Canadian who was once one of Guantánamo Bay’s youngest prisoners – is engaged to be married to a human rights activist who helped fight for his release. |
| News of the engagement was confirmed by CTV News on Tuesday, after the Canadian broadcaster spotted a post on Facebook congratulating Khadr and Muna Abougoush on their upcoming nuptials. | News of the engagement was confirmed by CTV News on Tuesday, after the Canadian broadcaster spotted a post on Facebook congratulating Khadr and Muna Abougoush on their upcoming nuptials. |
| Khadr, 29, has been out on bail since May of last year. He is studying to become an emergency medical responder and living at the Edmonton home of his lawyer Dennis Edney. | Khadr, 29, has been out on bail since May of last year. He is studying to become an emergency medical responder and living at the Edmonton home of his lawyer Dennis Edney. |
| Related: Omar Khadr: after Guantánamo, 'freedom is way better than I thought' | Related: Omar Khadr: after Guantánamo, 'freedom is way better than I thought' |
| Born in Canada, Khadr was 15 years old when he was captured by US troops in Afghanistan and taken to Guantánamo Bay. The first person since the second world war to be prosecuted in a war crimes tribunal for acts committed as a juvenile, he spent nearly 13 years in custody in a case that sparked political controversy in the US, Canada and around the world. | |
| Among the many pushing for Khadr’s release was Abougoush, who visited him in a Canadian prison when he was transferred there and helped launch the website Free Omar Khadr. | Among the many pushing for Khadr’s release was Abougoush, who visited him in a Canadian prison when he was transferred there and helped launch the website Free Omar Khadr. |
| In 2013, Abougoush described her nervousness at her first meeting with Khadr to the Toronto Star. “This case that everyone had been talking about for over a decade was about to become a real person,” she said at the time. | In 2013, Abougoush described her nervousness at her first meeting with Khadr to the Toronto Star. “This case that everyone had been talking about for over a decade was about to become a real person,” she said at the time. |
| She began to regularly visit him and write letters. “It motivated me to spread his story and let people know he is not the monster that had been portrayed by some media ... Despite all he has been through, he maintains a positive attitude.” | |
| While in Guantánamo, Khadr has alleged he was subject to a variety of abuses, including stress positions and sleep deprivation. The Canadian government’s steadfast refusal to seek Khadr’s repatriation from the US made him the last Westerner to remain in the notorious prison in Cuba. A video released in 2008 showed Khadr begging for help as Canadian officials interrogated him. | While in Guantánamo, Khadr has alleged he was subject to a variety of abuses, including stress positions and sleep deprivation. The Canadian government’s steadfast refusal to seek Khadr’s repatriation from the US made him the last Westerner to remain in the notorious prison in Cuba. A video released in 2008 showed Khadr begging for help as Canadian officials interrogated him. |
| Khadr pleaded guilty to war crimes in 2010, but later said he had only done so because he saw no other means of making it out of Guantánamo. He was transferred to Canada in 2012 and granted bail last May while he appeals his US war crimes convictions. | Khadr pleaded guilty to war crimes in 2010, but later said he had only done so because he saw no other means of making it out of Guantánamo. He was transferred to Canada in 2012 and granted bail last May while he appeals his US war crimes convictions. |
| His supporters continue to fight for him. Earlier this month, the Free Omar Khadr committee launched a letter-writing campaign urging the Canadian government to launch an inquiry into the actions of Canadian authorities in the case of Khadr. “We must question how we allowed such a gross travesty of justice to occur; how, for over a decade, we sanctioned or acquiesced to the most serious violation of a citizen’s rights and to the torture and abuse of a child,” wrote Kathleen Copps of the group. | |
| The campaign also calls on the Canadian government to settle a civil suit launched by Khadr in 2004 in which he claims the Canadian government was complicit in allowing the Americans to torture him and breach his rights. “It is urgent that our government provide redress to Omar for the 13 years of suffering caused to him by Canada,” added Copps. | The campaign also calls on the Canadian government to settle a civil suit launched by Khadr in 2004 in which he claims the Canadian government was complicit in allowing the Americans to torture him and breach his rights. “It is urgent that our government provide redress to Omar for the 13 years of suffering caused to him by Canada,” added Copps. |