Canada court urged to bring home Guantanamo inmate

Canada's top court was Friday urged to order the government to bring home one of the youngest detainees held at the US jail in Guantanamo Bay, a Canadian accused of killing a US soldier.

US officials revealed Friday that Omar Khadr, 23, the last Westerner held at the notorious US military prison, was to face a military tribunal.

But his supporters pressed their case that Khadr, arrested in Afghanistan when he was just 15, should be brought back to Canada.

"He is in limbo and has been in limbo for the past seven years now," said defense lawyer Nathan Whitling asking the Supreme Court to uphold a lower court decision ordering Ottawa to repatriate Khadr.

Canada has a "duty to protect" Khadr, Whitling said, citing obligations under international law against torture and the prosecution of child soldiers.

Khadr was arrested in Afghanistan in July 2002 for allegedly throwing a grenade that killed a US soldier, a charge he has denied.

He has been imprisoned at the US "war on terror" prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since October 2002 awaiting trial on charges of murder, conspiracy and support of terrorism.

Rumors swirled Friday that Khadr was to be transferred to the United States for trial.

But US attorney general Eric Holder said: "We'll look at that matter. At this point it's one of the cases designated for commission proceeding. We will as that case proceeds see how it should be ultimately treated."

It was not immediately clear where the military tribunal would be held, as President Barack Obama has ordered the prison to be closed by January 22.

Ottawa has so far rejected pressure from opposition MPs, rights groups and others to bring Khadr home, saying repeatedly it would wait for the US proceedings to play out.

On Friday, government attorneys asked the Supreme Court to quash the lower court decision ordering Ottawa to seek his release, saying in court documents that Canada is not legally bound to protect its citizens abroad.

They argued that the lower court "erred in applying Canada's international human rights obligations extraterritorially."

Government lawyer Robert Frater told the court that tribunals around the world have ruled governments are only required to consider requests from their citizens for aid when they are in personal difficulty.

"We've acknowledged his right to return (to Canada). We're just saying, 'Let the (US) process play out,'" he added.

Whitling countered the government's refusal to ask for Khadr's return violated his constitutional rights.

Rights groups such as Amnesty International, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Bar Association, and Human Rights Watch have backed the petition to seek Khadr's repatriation.

Federal Judge James O'Reilly said in April that Ottawa has a "duty to protect persons in Mr. Khadr's circumstances by taking steps to ensure that their fundamental rights, recognized in widely-accepted international instruments, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, are respected."

He said Khadr had not been granted special status as a minor by US authorities, was isolated at the prison and subjected to sleep deprivation.