Abdullah Khadr

Infobox Person
name = Abdullah Ahmed Khadr


image_size = 235px
caption = Abdullah, standing in front of his brother Abdurahman.
birth_date = April 30, 1981
birth_place =
nationality = Canadian
other_names =
alma_mater =
employer =
home_town = Toronto, Canada & Peshawar, Pakistan
religion = Muslim
spouse =
children =
parents = Ahmed Said Khadr Maha Elsamnah

Abdullah Ahmed Khadr (born April 30, 1981) is the second child of the Khadr family, and the oldest son of Ahmed Said Khadr. He has admitted buying weapons for al-Qaeda, but maintains that he was merely on friendly terms with its leaders due to his father's prominence, and not a member himself. He has said that he would "be the first one to stop" any potential attacks against Canada.Freeze, Colin. Globe and Mail, "I only buy and sell weapons for al-Qaeda", November 3 2006]

Life

As a child, Abdullah claimed his vision of Jannah involved fast cars.cite book |title= Guantanamo's Child |last=Shephard |first=Michelle |authorlink=Michelle Shephard |year= 2008 |publisher= John Wiley & Sons|isbn= |pages= ] In 1994, he was sent to Khalden training camp along with his brother Abdurahman, where he was given the alias "Hamza". Omar Nasiri later claimed to have met Abdullah in the camp's infirmary, where he had told Nasiri about witnessing Afghans in Khost blown apart while trying to salvage an unexploded bomb, although Abdullah himself does not remember the encounter. The two brothers fought constantly at the camp, one day their argument became so heated that Abdullah pointed his AK-47 and Abdurahman his PPK handgun, at each other screaming, before a trainer stepped between them.Nasiri, OmarInside the Jihad: My Life with al Qaeda, a Spy's story] , 2006] In 1997, a dispute between the brothers was mediated by Abu Laith al-Libi, who earned their confidence and respect telling them about Dubai and Ferarris, later described as "really cool" by Abdurahman. When the family was leaving Nizam Jihad in 1998, Abdurahman and Abdullah fought over seating in the car, and the fight ended with the older Khadr chasing his brother around the car with an AK-47 screaming.

As the oldest son, Abdullah would often drive his crippled father around Pakistan. Following the American invasion of Afghanistan the family split up. In 2002, Zaynab took Abdulkareem to Lahore where her two-year old daughter needed medical attention. The siblings were later joined by Abdullah, since he required surgery to remove cartilage from his nose.

A Taliban spokesman said that the January 26, 2004 suicide bomber that killed Cpl. Jamie Murphy in Kabul was "Mohammed", the son of a Canadian supposedly named Abdulrahman Khadr. The similar names led some to speculate it had been Abdullah, the only son of the family whose whereabouts were unknown at the time.cite news
url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20040206/kabul_abdullah_040205?s_name=&no_ads=
title=Khadr says his brother was not the Kabul bomber
publisher=CTV
date=February 6 2004
accessdate=2007-08-10] DNA samples from the bomber later proved it wasn't Khadr.cite news
url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1077121462961_9?s_name=&no_ads= DNA
title=DNA of Kabul bomber sent to Canada for analysis
publisher=CTV
date=February 18 2004
accessdate=2007-08-10]

Abdullah was interviewed for the 2004 documentary "Son of al Qaeda", and acknowledged attending the Khalden training camp. But he said that a ten-year-old learning to fire an AK47 was as common in Afghanistan as it was for a Canadian child to learn to play hockey.PBS, [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/khadr/view/ Son of al Qaeda] (video), April 22, 2004] This statement was later used by Richard J. Griffin to label Khadr as "one of the world's most dangerous men" [“ [http://www.state.gov/m/ds/rls/rm/84361.htm Partnerships Across Borders: Capturing International Fugitives Through Cooperation] ” (Remarks before the Ninth Annual International Fugitives Conference Toronto Police ServiceFugitive Squad and U.S. Marshals Service, 4 May 2007)]

In 2000, he allegedly had contact with a "high level member of al-Qaeda" who took the 19-year old with him to purchase weapons for fighting against the Northern Alliance militants and supplying an Afghan training camp.

Time in Pakistan

It is alleged that in 2003, Abdullah's father Ahmed Said Khadr was asked to organise militants operating near the border of Shagai, Pakistan, and subsequently asked the 22-year old Abdullah to help him procure weapons due to his experience several years earlier. Hughes, Gregory T. USA vs. Khadr [http://nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/U.S._v_Khadr_FBIAff.pdf affadavit] , November 23, 2005] Allegedly, Khadr procured weapons for his father, and became an arms dealer selling weapons to other militants, earning himself about $5000 in profit on the transactions of approximately $20,000 worth of mortar rounds, landmines, grenades and AK-47 ammunition.ref|OttawaCitizen051219cite news
url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000082&sid=a4e6zs6W_.9U&refer=canada
title=Canadian Accused of Buying Munitions for Al-Qaeda
publisher=Bloomberg
date=December 18 2005
accessdate=2007-08-10]

After his father's death in October 2003, Abdullah allegedly continued his trade in weapons.

Khadr also allegedly read the instruction manual for a GPS unit to determine its operation for militant friends in Pakistan who wanted to measure the distance between a local graveyard and a house he believed belonged to Prime Minster Shaukat Aziz. The house turned out to belong to President Pervez Musharraf, and Khadr's friends were later arrested near the graveyard.Humphreys, Adrian. National Post, " [http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=4a83cb67-444f-4348-811f-cd3303b56ded&k=1213 Khadr helped al-Qaeda with GPS] , November 2 2006]

He is also alleged to have purchased a forged Pakistani passport for 30,000 rupees ($600), and to have given it to his sister Zaynab for safekeeping.Bell, Stewart. National Post, " [http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=a3faabdc-c998-4e54-bade-49b7a9874a85 Fake passport khadr's plan to avoid U.S. Justice] ", December 23 2005]

In October 2004, he was allegedly in the process of purchasing five Soviet 9K38 Igla Surface-to-air missiles for $1000 apiece from a 29-year old Pakistani member of Lakshar e-Taiba with whom he offered to split the profit upon selling the weapons for $5000 apiece to the same man who'd taught him how to acquire munitions in 2000.

Arrest

An "American intelligence agency" classed Khadr as a threat, and offered a $500,000 bounty for his capture.cite news
url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080512.wkhadr0512/BNStory/International/home
title=U.S. paid bounty for Khadr arrest in Pakistan
page=
pages=
publisher=Globe and Mail
author=Colin Freeze
date=May 12 2008
accessdate=2008-05-11
quote=An American intelligence agency paid a bounty of $500,000 (U.S.) to the Pakistani military to arrest a Canadian citizen, according to a federal Court ruling made public Monday afternoon.] He was arrested on October 15, 2004.Shephard, Michelle, Toronto Star, "Canada's Role in Terror Case is Questioned", January 21 2005] Four days after his capture, "agents of the United States", including an FBI agent, visited the "quasi-prison" to interview Khadr. The visits continued for seventeen days. Canada became aware of his capture in November, and details about the bounty on Khadr were initially hidden from the public, under claims it would threaten national security to admit the fact. However a Canadian October 19 2004 memo describing the bounty was accidentally released in 2007. Reporters were warned not to publish the information, and the Globe and Mail newspaper took the government to court to fight the secrecy order. Justice Richard Mosley ruled that the information could be made public in May 2008, stating "the fact that a foreign state paid a bounty for the apprehension of a Canadian citizen abroad and that Canadian officials were aware of it at an early state is also a matter in which the public would have a legitimate interest.

Pakistan allegedly offered to repatriate Khadr to Canada several weeks after his arrest, but Canadian officials refused and suggested Pakistan look into turning him over to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) instead.

In April 2005, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arranged for officers from Project A-O, including Richard Jenkins, to fly to Pakistan to question Khadr for three days, ostensibly to prove that they were a "self-sufficient intelligence agency". Abdullah stated that when he was about 14-years old, his father had purchased two pairs of walkie talkies from Abdullah Almalki, although his lawyers later argued the statement had been made due to his mistreatment by Pakistani officials.Freeze, Colin. Globe and Mail, "Documents tie Khadr to tortured pair", November 3, 2006] He was also questioned about Amer el-Maati, who he said had worked as a carpet salesman after al-Qaeda had refused to grant him a pension following a brain injury stemming from a 1992 car accident. Asked about Mahmoud Jaballah, Khadr said he only knew him as an Arabic tutor in Peshawar who went by the patronymic "Abu Ahmed". Asked about Toronto Imam Aly Hindy, Khadr said that his son Ibrahim had briefly attended the "Musab al-Surri" Afghan training camp several years prior to 9/11, a fact that Hindy has spoken about himself. [Bradshaw, James. Globe and Mail, [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080423.BAIL23/TPStory/National Protesters decry treatment of bomb plot suspects] , April 23 2008] The RCMP later resigned themselves to the fact that it was unlikely Khadr could be prosecuted under Canadian law, since any statements made following "mistreatment" by Pakistani officials would hold no weight in the courts.

In June 2005, Canadian officials believed that negotiations with Pakistan had succeeded, and removed Khadr from no-fly lists, hired guards to escort him, and issued Khadr an emergency passport, no. EC016094. He was scheduled to fly home aboard a British Airways flight from Islamabad, scheduled to land in Toronto at 1800, June 15 2005.Freeze, Colin. Globe and Mail, "Pakistan frustrated plan to bring Khadr home", May 14, 2008] Canadian consular officials were "mystified" when he wasn't at the airport, and a note was immediately sent within the Foreign Affairs office stating "Given subj [ect] is now not returning to Cda, grateful mission wld ask Pakistani authorities what happened, where he is, which authority is holding him, etc. etc, and a new consular visit asap".

In July, FBI agent Gregory T. Hughes and Diplomatic Security Service agent Galen J. Nace interrogated Khadr for three days. On each day, Khadr waived any Miranda rights and agreed to speak with them. Hughes, Gregory T. USA vs. Khadr [http://nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/U.S._v_Khadr_FBIAff.pdf affadavit] , November 23, 2005] He mentioned his training in Khalden, and purchasing munitions for the same "high level member of al-Qaeda" he had worked with in 2000.

Pakistan still refused to hand Khadr over to the United States, insisting he should be returned to Canada.Dimanno, Rosie. Toronto Star, "Al-Qaeda family' in court", December 23 2005] On November 23 2005, a Boston court accepted prosecutor James B. Farmer's request for a request to extradite Khadr from Canada - and eight days later Canada agreed to take Khadr from Pakistan. The timing led critics to speculate that Canada was simply helping the United States get around Pakistan's refusal to hand over Khadr to American forces.Friscolanti, Michael. National Post, "U.S. sought Khadr before his arrival in Canada -- Pakistan refused to put suspect in U.S. custody", December 20 2005]

Return to Canada and subsequent arrest

Abdullah returned to Canada on December 2 2005 accompanied by two officials from the Foreign Affairs department, and was met by RCMP officer Konrad Shourie and others who interviewed him for 2.5 hours.Molloy, Anne. Ruling against Abdullah Khadr's Application for Bail, January 13, 2006] Two days later, Khadr agreed to another interview with FBI agents in the presence of Shourie.cite news
url=http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/12/07/20051207-khadr.html
title=Abdullah Khadr now a free man in Toronto
publisher=CBC
date=December 7 2005
accessdate=2007-08-10] Court documents confirmed that he and his sister Zaynab were both under investigation by the RCMP for terrorism-related offences,ref|TorStar051207a though commentators expressed confusion why he wasn't facing any criminal charges under Canadian law.cite news
url=http://www.cageprisoners.com/articles.php?id=12772
title=The puzzling case of Abdullah Khadr: Terror suspect awaits decision on extradition to U.S. But why didn't Canada charge him first?
publisher=Toronto Star
date=December 7 2005
accessdate=2007-08-10] During his sixteen days of freedom in Canada, Khadr was under constant RCMP surveillance.

On December 17, 2005 Khadr was phoned by the Canadian police and asked to meet them at a nearby McDonalds' restaurant. When he arrived, he was arrested based on the Boston extradition order, while the RCMP insisted the arrest "had nothing to do with" Canadian police.CBC, [http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/12/19/abdullah-khadr-051219.html?ref=rss Affidavits allege Khadr said he bought weapons for al-Qaeda] ] His mother was also arrested after she hit a police officer present, while his brother Abdurahman took photos of the arrest with his camera phone.Shephard, Michelle, Toronto Star. "Mounties arrest Abdullah Khadr", December 17, 2005] The next day, Prime Minister Paul Martin spoke at length about Abdullah and other members of the Khadr family, reiterating that there was only one kind of Canadian citizenship, and that Abdullah, and the other members of his family were as entitled to all the legal protections as any other citizen. cite news
url=http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20051218/abdullah_khadr_051218/20051218?hub=TorontoHome
title=Bail hearing for alleged terrorist on Monday
publisher=CTV
date=December 18 2005
accessdate=2007-08-10]

Khadr was denied bail five days later by Justice Anne Molloy of Ontario's Superior Court of Justice.National Post, [http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=511454ae-0450-4888-8fe8-b809a419bca4 'Have sympathy for us,' mother asks] , January 11 2006] A second bail hearing was scheduled for Khadr for December 19 2005, but the judge agreed to postpone the hearing to December 21 2005, to give Khadr's lawyers a chance to prepare.cite news
url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051218/abdullah_khadr_051218?s_name=&no_ads=
title=Bail hearing for alleged terrorist on Monday
publisher=CTV
date=December 19 2005
accessdate=2008-06-17
quote=] cite news
url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2005/12/19/abdullah-khadr-051219.html
title=Affidavits allege Khadr said he bought weapons for al-Qaeda
publisher=CBC News
date= December 19, 2005
accessdate=2008-06-17
quote=] cite news
url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051219/abdullah_khadr_court_051221?s_name=&no_ads=
title=Abdullah Khadr to appear at bail hearing Thursday
publisher=CTV
date= December 21 2005
accessdate=2008-06-17
quote=] cite news
url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051219.wkhadr1219/BNStory/National/
title=Khadr hearing delayed
publisher=Globe and Mail
date=December 19 2005
accessdate=2007-08-10] At the December bail hearing, Abdullah was represented by Nathan Whitling, Dennis Edney and J. Silver.Levy, Harold. Toronto Star, "Khadr loses bid to ban coverage of bail hearing", December 23 2004] He wore a black t-shirt reading "For the Future of Islam", and his grandmother Fatmah Elsamnah offered to act as his surety, putting up her $300,000 house as collateral. The motion for bail was denied at the request of prosecutor Robin Parker, who referenced American claims that the forged passport Khadr had purchased in Pakistan had been intended to allow him to flee to a country without an extradition treaty with the United States, and Abdullah returned to detention. Attempts to have a publication ban bar media from reporting on the bail hearing were unsuccessful. Justice Molloy's decision read;

On May 22 2006, he was involved in a brawl with another inmate at Toronto West Detention Centre over telephone privileges.Humphreys, Adrian. National Post, " [http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=c426397b-d604-4dde-a995-19df9119ec82&k=73356 Extradition hearing set for accused terrorist] ", May 26 2006] He appeared in court shortly afterwards, where he was represented by attorney John Silver, and his extradition hearing was set to begin October 30.On April 7 2008, he appeared in a Toronto court to argue against extradition to the United States, alleging that his confessions in Pakistan were obtained through torture. [London Free Press, [http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/National/2008/04/08/5224331-sun.html Abdullah Khadr battling terror case extradition to U.S.] , April 8, 2008]

Classified evidence was not shown to the public, but was shared with both Khadr and his lawyers, and judge Richard Mosley wrote a private summary of the information it contained. Khadr argued that the evidence was simply what he had said to convince Pakistani captors to stop torturing him.cite news
url=http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gpejPG9dDNhmJBW47Jis_ddPNWVg
title=Crown pressing to keep Abdullah Khadr extradition material secret
publisher=Canadian Press
date=June 14 2008
accessdate=2008-06-17 [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcanadianpress.google.com%2Farticle%2FALeqM5gpejPG9dDNhmJBW47Jis_ddPNWVg&date=2008-06-17 mirror] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.thekhadrlegacy.com/ The Khadr Legacy] , a website maintained by the family