Khadr wins freedom for first time in 13 years

Hours after an Alberta judge granted bail Friday to former Guantanamo Bay inmate Omar Khadr, one of his victims said the ruling showed an “appalling lack of responsibility.”

“People who have demonstrated their ability to damage our country significantly … and who have shown no ability or willingness to change, we would be foolish to turn those people loose on us once again,” said Sgt. Layne Morris, one of the first casualties of the war in Afghanistan as he was struck by fragments from a grenade lobbed by Khadr, then 15.

The grenade also killed combat medic Chris Speer.

Khadr’s release, which is expected to be finalized May 5, will be the 28-year-old’s first taste of freedom in more than 13 years after he was captured by U.S. soldiers.

“Canadians will see and meet a different Omar Khadr than the one wrongly portrayed by the Harper government,” said his lawyer Dennis Edney, who will also host the longtime prisoner at his Edmonton home.

King’s University, an Edmonton Christian college, has also offered to take Khadr as a mature student.

Across Canada, supporters cheered the pending release of Khadr, whom Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, among others, have long deemed a wrongfully imprisoned “child soldier.”

“Omar is excited to begin a normal life, continue with his studies, explore his new hometown of Edmonton and spend time with friends,” said the group Free Omar Khadr Now.

“We celebrate that Omar is at long last receiving the standard of justice and human rights that are enshrined in Canadian law.”

In October 2010, Khadr pleaded guilty before a military commission to five war crimes, including murder, for throwing the grenade that killed Speer.

He received a further eight years behind bars, but was allowed to return to Canada to serve out the sentence. He is appealing his conviction, saying he only pleaded guilty to be released from Guantanamo.

Steven Blaney, the federal public safety minister, said in a statement he was “disappointed” with the decision and would appeal.

“Omar Ahmed Khadr pleaded guilty to heinous crimes … we have vigorously defended against any attempt to lessen his punishment for these crimes,” he added.

The Speers and Morris are suing Khadr in civil court for more than $45 million.

Their lawyer, Laura Tanner, said the case was mainly launched to capture any monetary compensation the Canadian government might award Khadr.