Court rejects Omar Khadr's request for unsupervised meet with sister Zaynab
Meeting with Zaynab Khadr was one of the conditions in the bail Khadr had hoped that the court would relax.
Justice June Ross said that Khadr and his lawyer, Nathan Whitling, have offered nothing to reduce the security concerns centered around Zaynab Khadr.
Ross ruled that Khadr can only meet his controversial sister Zaynab, who is presently in Sudan, in presence of bail supervisor or any one of his lawyers.
However, Khadr's lawyer Whitling argued to say that Khadr, who is now 30, is old enough to prevent himself from going astray under the influence of anyone. "The passage of time makes a big difference," Whitling told Ross as reported by the Star.
"The idea that someone’s sister will turn him into a different person is no longer a concern,” Whitling added.
Bruce Hughson, lawyer representing the federal government, said Khadr was unable to provide any new evidence regarding Zaynab's view of terrorism that could alter or relax the bail conditions.
Agreeing to the point of Hughson, Ross said: "The defence has not provided relevant evidence to show a change of circumstances.”
However, Khadr refused to make any comment outside the court.
Khadr is on bail in a fifteen-year old case.
US soldier Sgt.Christopher Speer was killed in a grenade thrown by Khadr fifteen years ago during a firefight between the U.S. soldiers and Taliban fighters.
After serving ten years of imprisonment, Khadr admitted his guilt and recanted in American custody of Guantanamo Bay. He was later allowed to go to Canada.
During the period of his imprisonment, Khadr filed a civil suit against the Canadian government for conspiring against him along with the US counterpart and for breaching his rights.
In 2017, the Canadian government paid a sum of C$10.5-million to Khadr as a compensation.
In July, a Toronto court has turned down a request from wife of a dead U.S. soldier, Tabitha Speer, to freeze Canadian citizen OmarKhadr's assets, terming it as "extraordinary".
(Reporting by Souvik Ghosh)
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