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Unlikely praise for convicted Guantanamo prisoner

29 October 2010 01:22 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A young Canadian who has pleaded guilty to war crimes received praise Thursday from an unexpected source â€” a former senior Guantanamo official who described him as a model prisoner, respectful and helpful to military personnel, APA reports quoting news.yahoo.com website.

Navy Capt. Patrick McCarthy, the former top military legal adviser at the detention center, said Omar Khadr was not one of the "radical" detainees who assaulted guards. At times Khadr even served as a mediator between Guantanamo officials and prisoners to help quell tensions among the long-held men at the U.S. base in Cuba.

"Mr. Khadr was always very respectful," he said. "He had a pleasant demeanor. He was friendly."

McCarthy testified as a defense witness in a sentencing hearing for Khadr, who was 15 when he was captured in 2002. He told jurors he believes Khadr has the potential to be rehabilitated in part because of his age.

Khadr, now 24, pleaded guilty to five charges including murder in the death of an American special forces medic during a firefight at an al-Qaida compound in Afghanistan. A military jury is considering a sentence for him that cannot exceed eight years under a plea deal. He could have received up to life in prison if convicted at trial.

McCarthy, speaking by video link from Afghanistan, where he is now stationed, said he could not recall ever before testifying for the defense in a sentencing hearing. The chief prosecutor at the tribunals, Navy. Capt. John F. Murphy, sought to counter the testimony by noting the charges to which Khadr pleaded guilty and that Guantanamo records show instances of him shouting insults at guards and bragging about killing Americans.

"He’s an enemy spy. Did you know that when you interacted with him in 2006 and 2008?" the prosecutor asked.

McCarthy said he was aware of the accusations against Khadr, but that the detainee had not pleaded guilty at that time. He wasn’t aware of the insults, saying they most likely occurred earlier in Khadr’s confinement when he was still a teenager. He said he interacted with the prisoner more frequently than any other because Khadr received packages and visits from the Canadian government and others.

"Fifteen-year-olds, in my opinion, should not be held to the same level of accountability as adults," McCarthy said.

Khadr’s age has made his case one of the most controversial at Guantanamo.

His defenders say he was a child soldier pushed into militancy by a father who was a confidante of Osama bin Laden and other senior al-Qaida leaders. His lawyers said he should have been sent home from the U.S. base in Cuba long ago to be rehabilitated in his homeland.

Prosecutors said Khadr was a terrorist who admitted planting 10 roadside bombs, and a war criminal because he was not a legitimate soldier when he threw a grenade that mortally wounded Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer of Albuquerque, New Mexico.