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Canadian convicted terrorist Omar Khadr is back in Canada after a decade in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and a year after he was eligible for repatriation.
A Pentagon source told The Globe and Mail that Mr. Khadr departed from the U.S. naval base before 4:30 a.m. Saturday aboard a U.S. military plane.
That plane landed at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, in Trenton, Ont., about three hours later. A shackled Mr. Khadr was then put in a van and driven away with an Ontario Provincial Police escort, CTV news reported. He was taken to the Millhaven Institution federal maximum-security prison in Bath near Kingston, Ont.
"Omar Khadr was born in Canada and is a Canadian citizen. As a Canadian citizen, he has a right to enter Canada after the completion of his sentence," Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said. :This transfer occurs following a process initiated by the United States Government and determined in accordance with Canadian law." He said he's "satisfied" Corrections Canada can safely administer Mr. Khadr's sentence.
Mr. Khadr has six years remaining on his eight-year prison sentence, but under Canadian law, he could be eligible for parole as early as the summer of 2013.
Mr. Khadr found out Wednesday evening he would be brought back to Canada within the next few days, the Pentagon source said. But due to security restrictions he hasn't been able to speak with his lawyers since.
Mr. Khadr's military lawyer, Lieutenant-Colonel Jon Jackson, is also flying to Canada and is expected to be in Toronto later Saturday.
Mr. Khadr's family got the news watching television Saturday morning. A man answering the phone at a home where several friends and family members had gathered said the news had come as just one more shock to Mr. Khadr's grandparents, who "can't handle this stuff."
Mr. Khadr, now 26, was 15 when he was captured by U.S. officers after an Afghan firefight. Mr. Khadr spent several weeks in U.S. custody in Bagram, Afghanistan before being transported to Guantanamo. He was charged with numerous terrorism offences, including the murder of U.S. Sergeant Christopher Speer.
Mr. Khadr pleaded guilty in October, 2010 under a plea agreement that gave him an eight-year sentence with one year to be spent in the U.S. detention centre and the remainder in Canada. While Ottawa agreed to this at the time, Mr. Khadr's lawyers have accused Mr. Toews of stalling as almost two years passed and Mr. Khadr remained in Guantanamo Bay.
Mr. Toews, in whose hands the decision to repatriate Mr. Khadr rested, had said earlier that Ottawa had to do its due diligence to ensure Mr. Khadr could safely return. This involved reviewing footage from a psychological assessment of Mr. Khadr by U.S. psychiatrists Michael Welner and Alan Hopwell.
But the delay irked the U.S. administration, which hoped to use Mr. Khadr's plea deal as an example for other inmates to follow. Instead, leery at the lack of movement in Mr. Khadr's case, some were reluctant to agree to plea deals of their own.
A Pentagon source told The Globe and Mail that Mr. Khadr departed from the U.S. naval base before 4:30 a.m. Saturday aboard a U.S. military plane.
That plane landed at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, in Trenton, Ont., about three hours later. A shackled Mr. Khadr was then put in a van and driven away with an Ontario Provincial Police escort, CTV news reported. He was taken to the Millhaven Institution federal maximum-security prison in Bath near Kingston, Ont.
"Omar Khadr was born in Canada and is a Canadian citizen. As a Canadian citizen, he has a right to enter Canada after the completion of his sentence," Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said. :This transfer occurs following a process initiated by the United States Government and determined in accordance with Canadian law." He said he's "satisfied" Corrections Canada can safely administer Mr. Khadr's sentence.
Mr. Khadr has six years remaining on his eight-year prison sentence, but under Canadian law, he could be eligible for parole as early as the summer of 2013.
Mr. Khadr found out Wednesday evening he would be brought back to Canada within the next few days, the Pentagon source said. But due to security restrictions he hasn't been able to speak with his lawyers since.
Mr. Khadr's military lawyer, Lieutenant-Colonel Jon Jackson, is also flying to Canada and is expected to be in Toronto later Saturday.
Mr. Khadr's family got the news watching television Saturday morning. A man answering the phone at a home where several friends and family members had gathered said the news had come as just one more shock to Mr. Khadr's grandparents, who "can't handle this stuff."
Mr. Khadr, now 26, was 15 when he was captured by U.S. officers after an Afghan firefight. Mr. Khadr spent several weeks in U.S. custody in Bagram, Afghanistan before being transported to Guantanamo. He was charged with numerous terrorism offences, including the murder of U.S. Sergeant Christopher Speer.
Mr. Khadr pleaded guilty in October, 2010 under a plea agreement that gave him an eight-year sentence with one year to be spent in the U.S. detention centre and the remainder in Canada. While Ottawa agreed to this at the time, Mr. Khadr's lawyers have accused Mr. Toews of stalling as almost two years passed and Mr. Khadr remained in Guantanamo Bay.
Mr. Toews, in whose hands the decision to repatriate Mr. Khadr rested, had said earlier that Ottawa had to do its due diligence to ensure Mr. Khadr could safely return. This involved reviewing footage from a psychological assessment of Mr. Khadr by U.S. psychiatrists Michael Welner and Alan Hopwell.
But the delay irked the U.S. administration, which hoped to use Mr. Khadr's plea deal as an example for other inmates to follow. Instead, leery at the lack of movement in Mr. Khadr's case, some were reluctant to agree to plea deals of their own.
They're letting the kids out now.
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