U.S. widow may make claim on Khadr payout
OTTAWA • A reported multimillion- dollar payout from the Canadian government to former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Omar Khadr could create an opportunity for the widow of the man Khadr was convicted of killing to seek compensation.
Tabitha Speer could “absolutely” go after Khadr’s assets once he has some, said Howard Anglin, a former deputy chief of staff and legal adviser to former prime minister Stephen Harper.
Khadr sued the Canadian government for wrongful imprisonment after a Supreme Court decision in 2010 found his rights had been violated, with Canadian officials complicit in his imprisonment and alleged torture at Guantanamo Bay prison.
In 2002, when Khadr was 15 and living with his father, a high- ranking member of al- Qaida, he was accused of throwing a grenade in an Afghanistan firefight that killed American special forces medic Christopher Speer. Another soldier, Layne Morris, was blinded in one eye. Khadr was also partially blinded.
In 2010, Khadr agreed to plead guilty to murder, saying later he only did so in order to get out of Guantanamo. He was returned to Canada in 2012 to serve the rest of his sentence and was released on bail in 2015.
According to media reports Tuesday, the govern- ment has decided to settle his $ 20- million lawsuit with an apology and $10.5 million.
Meanwhile, Speer’s wife and Morris sued Khadr for damages and won a default judgment of $ 134 million in 2015 in a Utah court. The settlement was never enforced.
Anglin said that while he was in government, the U. S. lawsuit didn’t factor into discussions about the Khadr case. But its resolution could offer Speer and Morris an opportunity.
“When you get a judgment in another country, in a legal system that Canada generally recognizes, like the U. S., you need to get a court in Canada to recognize that judgment. So you’d bring an action in Canada to get the Utah judgment recognized,” Anglin said.
“I suspect that they didn’t do that previously because ( Khadr) had no assets. So you’d be spending money on legal fees, coming to court with no prospect of recovering anything. So now that there are assets, in theory at least, they should be able to get the judgment enforced. … I’d be surprised if they didn’t.”
Conservative foreign affairs critic Tony Clement said he thinks Speer should pursue any legal action she can, but Khadr should pre- empt it. “We call on Mr. Khadr to give any funds he receives to the widow and family of Christopher Speer.”
The Liberal government has yet to confirm the Khadr compensation package. Responding to reporters’ questions in Ireland, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government anticipates “that judicial process is coming to its conclusion.”
Clement said the special circumstances of this case — Khadr was actually convicted of a crime — should have warranted a firmer hand, and the Liberals’ approach makes them appear “soft on terrorism.”
Not all are critical of the government’s move. New Democrat justice critic Alistair MacGregor said his party has long been advocating for the government to apologize to Khadr.