Omar Khadr Suing And Being Sued

[Big Guy]

Omar Khadr is going to keep lawyers busy. “In 2013 his lawyers asked a judge to approve yet another round of amendments to a lawsuit that’s been inching its way through the system for almost as long as he’s been locked away. Originally filed in 2004 as a mere $100,000 claim (and later bumped up to $10 million), Khadr’s latest submission says he now deserves $60 million from the Canadian government: $20 million for breaching his Charter rights, $20 million in punitive damages, and $20 million for failing to treat him like the 15-year-old child soldier he was.”

Yesterday it was announced that the widow of a U.S. special forces soldier killed in Afghanistan and an American soldier blinded by a grenade are now suing Canada's Omar for close to $50 million. The lawsuit alleges that Khadr, then 15, was responsible for the death of one American soldier and blinding of another in July 2002. The basis for the suit is that Khadr pleaded guilty to five war crimes before a U.S. military commission in Guantanamo Bay in October 2010 that saw him sentenced to a further eight years in prison.

That plea deal stipulated that Khadr, now 27, admitted to murder and attempted murder in violation of the rule of war, and three other war crimes. The Khadr lawyers responded that Omar only pleaded guilty to those charges to get out of the USA and into a Canadian prison.

Should anyone have the right to sue anybody else because of the result of war.

Should a terrorist have the right to sue a government because he feels he was mistreated?

Do you know who is going to pay for all these lawyers?

Is this soap opera ever going to end?

Some coverage at;

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/omar-khadr-faces-50m-suit-by-blinded-u-s-soldier-widow-1.2651290

and

http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/omar-khadr-sues-government-for-60-million/

Edited May 23, 2014 by Big Guy

[TimG]

This kinds of lawsuits are quite ridiculous because the sums being requested make getting mistreated by a government/company like winning the lottery. If people are wronged they should be put back in the place they likely would have been without being wronged. For someone like Khadr that would mean funding for high school and university if he wants it - at a cost a lot less than $60 million.

I am glad that his victims are counter suing. If by some perverse chance he actually gets a settlement seeing it all paid out to his victim's families would provide some measure of justice although I disagree with their monetary demands as well.

Edited May 23, 2014 by TimG

[On Guard for Thee]

OMG, we declared war, invaded a country and one of our boys got hurt. Now we need to make a lawsuit against someone who has spent most of his adult lief in prison. An illegal prison by the way. If Khadr had been convicted of murder in a "proper" court, he'd be out on parole by now. Maybe the US should learn to stay home.

[Guest]

There is no way he should be sued for violent acts committed during a wartime battle. The very idea is ludicrous.

That said, he should still be a POW.

[On Guard for Thee]

There is no way he should be sued for violent acts committed during a wartime battle. The very idea is ludicrous.

That said, he should still be a POW.

On what basis?

[Guest]

The same as those guys from the Great Escape. He was caught during a battle against the enemy. He should definitely get his Red Cross parcels, though.

[Moonlight Graham]

How can an American living in the US sue a Canadian?

[On Guard for Thee]

How can an American living in the US sue a Canadian?

I'm sure BC will have a "juicy" answer to your question. Probably something to do with a sexual encounter with somebodys mother.

[WestCoastRunner]

What are your thoughts on this matter big guy? I am interested in what you think. This is an opinion post. Tell us what you think?

[WestCoastRunner]

What are your thoughts on this matter big guy? I am interested in what you think. This is an opinion post. Tell us what you think?

I apologize for drawing you out but you initiated this thread and I want to know your opinion on this matter.

[cybercoma]

How can an American living in the US sue a Canadian?

For a "crime" that took place in Afghanistan during a war.

[On Guard for Thee]

Here's what I think: and this fits so well into another hot thread going on here where American law falls so flat on it's face. Omar Khadr is being hel so totally responsible for what he did when he was 15, but a boy 16 in the US is deemed to be a minor and therefore his sexual partner gets a 30 year jail sentence. Let's get your shit together: are we responsible when we are 15, or is it not until we're 16 or when the hell is it?

[Bob Macadoo]

Here's what I think: and this fits so well into another hot thread going on here where American law falls so flat on it's face. Omar Khadr is being hel so totally responsible for what he did when he was 15, but a boy 16 in the US is deemed to be a minor and therefore his sexual partner gets a 30 year jail sentence. Let's get your shit together: are we responsible when we are 15, or is it not until we're 16 or when the hell is it?

I agree its FUBAR, but really you can bring a civil suit against a stalk of celery.....doesn't mean it won't be dismissed without merit.

[TimG]

I agree its FUBAR, but really you can bring a civil suit against a stalk of celery.....doesn't mean it won't be dismissed without merit.

What is FURBAR is the suggestion that Khadr should be entitled to any compensation from the Canadian government. If I was a relative of the people he killed I would be outraged that the killer might end up living a life of luxury because of moronic courts with no sense of context.

[Big Guy]

I apologize for drawing you out but you initiated this thread and I want to know your opinion on this matter.

My initial reaction is that Omar sits at the apex of a number of issues;

From the political end, the Harper government has been spending $millions keeping Omar in jail and in the public eye. This is a matter of the PM's political ideology. That is also a waste of our money.

From the guilty or not aspect – not sure of what. There is a reason for the term “the fog of war”. I do not believe that what an injured 15 year old on the field of an active firefight during a war is murder or manslaughter. If we believe that a 15 year old is mature enough to make a decision on life and death then we should allow Canadian 15 year olds to join our forces in active combat – we do not.

I believe that incarceration is meant for rehabilitation and not punishment. This individual is being kept in jail because of the ideology of our present government. Professional sources indicate that he is no longer a threat – our government disagrees.

The idea of successfully suing our federal government is new to me. I believe that the Maher Arar decision set a precedent. A Canadian commission publicly cleared Arar of any links to terrorism, and the government of Canada later settled out of court with Arar. He received $10.5 million and Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologized to Arar for Canada's role in his "terrible ordeal". It appears that our government does admit to making mistakes and allows us to pay for them.

As to the lawsuits, I believe in the rule of law and await the decision of the courts. The courts will have a lot more information about these cases than we do.

The obvious solution is to get on with the rehabilitation of this individual so that he has marketable skills and does not continue to be a drain on our resources. I do not know how much education he has received in jail and just how much damage these years of interrogation and incarceration have done to him. Short of writing (or getting book written) I do not know what skills he has that would qualify to find employment.

It is ironic that the deal, or “plea bargain” between Khadr and the Americans was a confession to actions that he still claims he did not do. That deal is now the basis of the suit against him.

The sooner this “controversy” is over the better . For some reason, both the Canadian and American governments want to keep this soap opera in the public eye. I do not know why.

Thank you for asking.

[guyser]

This kinds of lawsuits are quite ridiculous because the sums being requested make getting mistreated by a government/company like winning the lottery. If people are wronged they should be put back in the place they likely would have been without being wronged. For someone like Khadr that would mean funding for high school and university if he wants it - at a cost a lot less than $60 million.

This position is pretty silly and in line with most medical insurers (the most famous) since the idea is to limit awards without any consideration of harm done to the plaintiff nor what harm it causes the defendant.

IOW, if we limit the lottery as you say, then it becomes a convenient business expense instead of what it should do, and thats to cripple anyones ability to do the harm in the first place.

We see the rise of this during American elections, limit the amounts paid for medical malpratice since the 'courts have got out of hand' . Its pretty well known the costs of these suits due to the denials of obvious malfeasance are high.

Im betting you think Stella Liebeck should have got her $5000 from McDonalds for the hot coffee huh?

I am glad that his victims are counter suing. If by some perverse chance he actually gets a settlement seeing it all paid out to his victim's families would provide some measure of justice although I disagree with their monetary demands as well.

Right.....she should get paid for her husband , a soldier in a war zone conducting exercises on a battlefield and he gets killed.

Umm....did she expect he was to be sunning himself on a beach the whole time?

Good luck to her, she'll lose. If she feels slighted why deosnt she sue the people who put her husband there? She need only gaze eastward to Washington to see who she can profit from.

Edited May 23, 2014 by Guyser2

[TimG]

IOW, if we limit the lottery as you say, then it becomes a convenient business expense instead of what it should do, and thats to cripple anyones ability to do the harm in the first place.

There is no reason to award victims and their lawyers ridiculous sums because of the need discourage bad behavior by deep pocketed defendents. When warranted additional damages can be assessed but the entire amount should go to the government or a general fund to help people who need it but did not win the 'lawsuit lottery'.

Right.....she should get paid for her husband , a soldier in a war zone conducting exercises on a battlefield and he gets killed.

I did say I thought the premise is just as bad - but if the choice is between giving the money to the killer or victim I would say the victims. My first choice would to be dismiss both suits as absurd. Edited May 23, 2014 by TimG

[guyser]

There is no reason to award victims and their lawyers ridiculous sums because of the need discourage bad behavior by deep pocketed defendents.

Victims suffered the damage.

THey should not get the reward? Oh boy.

Without punitive measures , companies will roll on without safety concerns, to others and to their own bottom line

When warranted additional damages can be assessed but the entire amount should go to the government or a general fund to help people who need it but did not win the 'lawsuit lottery'.

Well, lets not stop there. Lets us look at your paycheck, hmmmm....you seem to be getting too much and there are others who need the money. Bet you arent cool with that !

Ask anyone seriously harmed , theyll tell you they would rather go back to what they had and no hassles than to go through the suit process.

Were the residents of Bhopal treated fairly by Union Carbide

I did say I thought the premise is just as bad - but if the choice is between giving the money to the killer or victim I would say the victims. My first choice would to be dismiss both suits as absurd.

Thats not the choice . Any attempt to phrase it that way is disingenous.

[TimG]

Victims suffered the damage.

And they should be made whole. They don't deserve to be given sums that far exceed whatever they might have earned if they were never a victim.

THey should not get the reward? Oh boy.

Why should they? My point is the lawsuit lottery encourages frivolous lawsuits by people who are not really victims but just want to cash in. If the awards were based on what is necessary to put the person back into position that they were in before the incident then only true victims would sue. The lawsuit lottery also rewards weak minded people who would rather wallow in the past instead of picking themselves up and moving on.

Ask anyone seriously harmed , theyll tell you they would rather go back to what they had and no hassles than to go through the suit process.

At the same time they want to cash in their lottery ticket rather than focusing on what is necessary to correct the wrong. Edited May 23, 2014 by TimG

[guyser]

And they should be made whole. They don't deserve to be given sums that far exceed whatever they might have earned if they were never a victim.

Well they arent. So whats your point?

People are given sums beyond their earning capacity because their earning capacity has been diminished/interrupted/no longer viable.

They have suffered a catastrophic loss. Noe one gets millions for a hangnail as you seem to ascribe.

Why should they? My point is the lawsuit lottery encourages frivolous lawsuits by people who are not really victims but just want to cash in.

A frivolous lawsuit is a frivolous lawsuit and almost universally is viewed as such and no payouts of any concern occur here. So what are you saying?

At the same time they want to cash in their lottery ticket rather than focusing on what is necessary to correct the wrong.

Im trying to post nicely but thats a crock statement.

Bhopal citizens should have repaired the leaky pipes for Union Carbide?

Stella Liebeck should have walked into Mickey D's and turned down the temp on the coffee maker?

Hinkley residents should have cleaned up the tailing ponds on their own?

Riiiiight....

[Moonlight Graham]

For a "crime" that took place in Afghanistan during a war.

And he was a minor/child soldier no less. I wonder if wounded US Vietnam vets and families of the dead should start suing former Viet Cong living in Vietnam These are also countries that the US invaded, not the other way around.

If you sign up for the military and are sent into a war zone you have to accept the risks or get out. Hard to get mad when a Muslim kid throws grenades at you when you invade the Muslim country he's living in. If the US military invaded Canada i'd be lobbing grenades at them too...so sue me!

[guyser]

Further to that MG, maybe the families of the Canuck soldiers killed in friendly fire accident by the American could sue, afterall, killing by friendly fire is gross negligence whereas this womans husband was killed in battle, by the enemy.

Oh my , wouldnt that upset the Yankee apple cart. Three of 'em....times $100M....move the decimal , round it up.....yup, thats shite load of money

[monty16]

The Harper government is onside with keeping it going because it's their ideology to punish him because he's a Muslim. But there's also the blackmail threat from the US that's not being ignored as it should be.

Here's a test of the riculous level on which this needs to be placed. Just imagine how US military murderers are treated who are actually caught on camera slaughtering injured and dying Muslims. They walk and they've been walking ever since Calley walked for his crimes against humanity.

[guyser]

The Harper government is onside with keeping it going because it's their ideology to punish him because he's a Muslim.

You , of course , have a link that backs this up ....right?

[Argus]

OMG, we declared war, invaded a country and one of our boys got hurt. Now we need to make a lawsuit against someone who has spent most of his adult lief in prison. An illegal prison by the way. If Khadr had been convicted of murder in a "proper" court, he'd be out on parole by now. Maybe the US should learn to stay home.

I would suggest the lawsuit is based on his lawsuit, and the belief he will be coming into a lot of money. No one wants to see the punk who murdered their loved ones become a multi-millionaire because of it.

And by the way, it wan't Khadr's country, or if it was we should ship his ass back there.