GPIA Faculty and student organize Canadian Supreme Court intervention for Guantanamo Detainee
GPIA Professor Nehal Bhuta and GPIA student Jenny Prewo are coordinating an intervention (amicus curiae) application for Human Rights Watch in the Canadian case of The Prime Minister of Canada and Others v Omar Khadr.
The case concerns Canadian Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr, who was captured in Afghanistan and interned at Guantanamo since the age of 15. He is now 22, having spent more that one third of his life there. Recently released documents show that as a 16 year old child, he was exposed to brutal interrogation methods such as sleep deprivation, and was denied access to legal counsel and his family.
After several years of litigation, Canadian courts have finally ordered the Canadian government to demand his repatriation, something which the Canadian government has repeatedly refused to do.
The Canadian government is now appealing the latest court order to the Supreme Court, Canada's highest court. Human Rights Watch is seeking leave to intervene as a "friend of the court" to present international human rights law arguments in favor of Khadr's repatriation. As Special Advisor on Terrorism and Counter-terrorism issues, Professor Bhuta is leading Human Rights Watch's efforts and he is being assisted with research and writing by GPIA student Jenny Prewo.
The case concerns Canadian Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr, who was captured in Afghanistan and interned at Guantanamo since the age of 15. He is now 22, having spent more that one third of his life there. Recently released documents show that as a 16 year old child, he was exposed to brutal interrogation methods such as sleep deprivation, and was denied access to legal counsel and his family.
After several years of litigation, Canadian courts have finally ordered the Canadian government to demand his repatriation, something which the Canadian government has repeatedly refused to do.
The Canadian government is now appealing the latest court order to the Supreme Court, Canada's highest court. Human Rights Watch is seeking leave to intervene as a "friend of the court" to present international human rights law arguments in favor of Khadr's repatriation. As Special Advisor on Terrorism and Counter-terrorism issues, Professor Bhuta is leading Human Rights Watch's efforts and he is being assisted with research and writing by GPIA student Jenny Prewo.