Khadr's Lawyers in Court

Khadr's Lawyers in Court
Lawyers for the only Canadian suspect held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay will take their fight for freedom to the highest court in Canada.

Omar Khadr's lawyers will appear before the Supreme Court of Canada to argue that both the Canadian and American governments have violated his rights and international law.

They say the Canadian government infringed on the Charter of Rights when they interviewed Khadr at Guantanamo and then passed the results of those interviews to U.S. authorities. They also claim the United States is in violation of international law because they plan to try him before a special military tribunal that doesn't meet accepted legal standards.

Khadr is demanding his lawyers have access to documents held by the federal government so he can use them during his trial in the U.S. He is accused of killing an American soldier during combat in Afghanistan in 2002. He was just 15 at the time and has been held in Guantanamo ever since.

The government says Khadr's demands are a fishing expedition that could potentially compromise sensitive intelligence information. They also argue that a Canadian court is no place to pass judgment on American trial practices.

Meanwhile the man who spent weeks interrogating Khadr in Afghanistan is denying accusations he treated the Canadian badly.

The former U.S. soldier says he has been unfairly portrayed as a torturer who allegedly beat suspects. In 2005, Joshua Claus pleaded guilty to the maltreatment and assault of another Afghan prisoner, a taxi driver who was sentenced to five months in jail.