SC rejects bid to declare Khadr an adult offender

Supporters say he was a child soldier, not a terrorist

The federal government is “disappointed” the Supreme Court dismissed its appeal Thursday to have Omar Khadr declared an adult offender.

The decision means if Khadr, a convicted terrorist, returns to prison to complete his sentence, he will serve time as a young offender.

Toronto- born Khadr, 28, pleaded guilty in the U.S. in 2010 to murder and four counts of terrorism and spying. The charges came after a 2002 Afghanistan firefight that killed U.S. Special Forces medic Sgt. Chris Speer, when Khadr was 15 years old.

He spent nearly a decade at Guantanamo Bay before being transferred to an Alberta prison as part of a plea agreement that allowed him to serve the bulk of his eight-year sentence in Canada. He now says it was a plea he made just to get home.

Khadr’s supporters, who include prominent Canadians and opposition MPs, say he was a child soldier, not a terrorist.

Last week, Alberta’s highest court released Khadr on bail pending his appeal of his U.S. convictions — a move the fed- eral government opposed. Khadr is currently living at his lawyer’s home in Edmonton.

On Thursday, the top court ruled against the feds, saying Khadr’s sentence should be considered a youth sentence.

“Omar Khadr has plead guilty to heinous crimes, including the murder of American Army medic Sgt. Christopher Speer,” a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said in a statement to Postmedia Network. “We are disappointed with today’s decision.”