Canadian Ex-Gitmo Prisoner Might Not See Freedom After All

The Canadian government will seek an emergency stay of bail granted by an Alberta judge to former Guantanamo prisoner Omar Khadr.

Last month, the court in the Canadian province of Alberta decided to grant 28-year-old Khadr bail, stating that the ex-Guantanamo detainee should be released from prison while he appeals his conviction charges for war crimes in the United States.

The judge argued that Khadr was a model prisoner and posed no threat to the Canadian public, and therefore should be allowed out.

The Canadian government, however, was not happy about the Alberta judge's decision. The government said bail undermined Canadian international relations and obligations, considering Khadr pleaded guilty to having killed a US soldier while in Afghanistan.

"Omar Ahmed Khadr pleaded guilty to heinous crimes, including the murder of American Army medic Sergeant Christopher Speer," said Jeremy Laurin, spokesman for the Canadian Ministry of Public Safety. He also added that Ottawa will "vigorously defend against any attempt to lessen his punishment for these crimes."

In July 2002, US troops captured Khadr on a battlefield in Afghanistan and sent him to prison in Guantanamo Bay, where he spent years before getting transferred to Canada in 2012.

The application will be heard on Tuesday, before another court hearing scheduled to decide Khadr's release conditions.