In a courtroom sketch, Canadian detainee Omar Khadr is shown in Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba, Oct. 31, 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Janet Hamlin, Pool
June 21, 2012 - 12:33 PM
OTTAWA - Lawyers for convicted war criminal Omar Khadr are renewing their calls to have him transferred to Canada from his U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Liberal Sen. Romeo Dallaire, a longtime advocate for child soldiers, has joined Khadr's lawyers in making the plea.
But their request continues to fall on deaf ears in Ottawa, which has yet to make a formal request to the U.S.
Khadr, 25, was eligible for transfer back to Canada last October.
The Toronto-born man pleaded guilty in October 2010 to war crimes committed in Afghanistan in 2002 as a 15-year-old, including murder in violation of the rules of war.
Khadr was sentenced to eight years, with one year to be served in Guantanamo Bay, by a military tribunal that has faced massive criticism across the globe.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012