Toronto-born Omar Khadr, the youngest detainee ever held at the US "war on terror" prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has fired his Canadian lawyers, one of the attorneys said Friday.
Dennis Edney declined to provide any further details about his ex-client's decision, while Quebec filmmaker Patricio Henriquez, who directed an award-winning documentary film about Khadr, said the move likely came under pressure in prison.
A US military tribunal sentenced Khadr to 40 years in prison in October after he pleaded guilty to throwing a grenade that killed a US sergeant in Afghanistan in 2002. He was only 15 at the time.
But a plea deal meant his actual sentence was only eight years -- including a provision that he could seek a transfer to Canada after an initial year at Guantanamo. He is due to return to Canada this coming October.
Edney and fellow lawyer Nathan Whitling are now due to be replaced by two other Canadian attorneys, John Norris and Brydie Bethell.
In an August 3 letter signed by Khadr and published by the Miami Herald, the detainee said he felt his decision would best serve his interests. But he also thanked his former legal team.
"I wholeheartedly recognize the extraordinary commitment you have shown in everything you have done for me. I have the highest praise and respect for you both," the letter read.
A separate letter asked Khadr's former counsel and current military lawyers, Lieutenant Colonel Jon Jackson and Major Matthew Schwartz, to keep quiet about the case "until I advise you otherwise in writing."
Henriquez, who directed the Khadr documentary "You Don't Like the Truth" with Luc Cote, told AFP he was "very surprised" by Khadr's decision.
He said Khadr had "placed his trust in his Canadian civil lawyers for seven or eight years," and that it was on Edney and Whitling's advice that he agreed to plead guilty to the charges in order to leave Guantanamo sooner.
The two lawyers had worked Khadr's case pro bono, even paying for their own transportation to Guantanamo. They were in the process of working on his return to Canada and his anticipated release.
"You wonder whether Khadr made his decision on his own," Henriquez said, adding that Khadr had undergone interrogations and "sessions that closely resemble psychological control" since his sentencing.
Copyright 2011 AFP American Edition
