Canadian Supreme Court rules inmate’s rights were violated at Guantánamo

last updated Feb 03, 2010

On 29 January 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Canadian agents violated the rights of the only Canadian citizen held at Guantánamo Bay, Omar Khadr, during the interrogations. Mr. Khadr was captured severely wounded by US forces in Afghanistan at the age of 15. According to the Court, the use of tactics like sleep deprivation before Mr. Khadr was questioned by Canadians in 2003 and 2004, were a particularly offensive violation of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms because of his age. The Court held: ““Interrogation of a youth, to elicit statements about the most serious criminal charges while detained in these conditions and without access to counsel, and while knowing that the fruits of the interrogations would be shared with the U.S. prosecutors, offends the most basic Canadian standards about the treatment of detained youth suspects.” Despite such criticism the Court decided that it would “leave it to the government to decide how best to respond to this judgment in light of current information, its responsibility for foreign affairs and in conformity with the charter.”