The federal government is telling the courts to back off when it comes to the Omar Khadr case and leave foreign affairs decisions to the Prime Minister and his cabinet.
In a hearing yesterday, Justice Department lawyer Doreen Mueller urged the Federal Court of Appeal to reject the Federal Court’s April ruling that the government should request Mr. Khadr’s return from the United States.
Ms. Mueller said the Crown rejects the view that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies when Canadians face charges outside the country.
“There is clearly no duty to protect citizens under international law,” Ms. Mueller told the court.
The Federal Court has concluded that Mr. Khadr has Charter rights because Canadian officials were involved in his interrogations and shared information from those sessions with United States authorities.
Mr. Khadr is in custody at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and military proceedings against him are in limbo.
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I admire the way that Dennis Edney is grimly slogging on to the bitter finish, knowing, as he must, that: any victory in the latest Court of Appeal battle to force the Harper government to demand Omar Khadr’s repatriation will be a Pyrrhic one:
http://fakirsca.blogspot.com/2009/06/dennis-edneys-fight-for-omar-khadr-its.html