Activists plan rallies to urge Canada to repatriate young Gitmo detainee

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Activists will stage rallies across Canada this weekend to urge Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to press for the repatriation of a young Canadian detainee at the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay. The executive director of the Canadian Arab Federation, Mohamed Boudjenane, said Friday that weekend rallies are planned for Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. On Wednesday, one will be held in Vancouver in support of bringing Toronto-born terror suspect Omar Khadr back to Canada. "Omar became a victim, on one hand, because he was manipulated by his family at a young age. (But) he's also the victim of this government, which is now supporting this kangaroo legal system happening in Guantanamo Bay," Boudjenane said. The son of an alleged al-Qaida financier who was raised in Afghanistan, Khadr is accused of throwing a grenade that killed a US Special Forces soldier during a 2002 firefight in Afghanistan. Another solider was blinded in one eye. He was 15 at the time. His case drew international attention last week after Khadr's defense team released video footage of Khadr being interrogated by Canadian officials at the US prison in 2003, when he was 16.