A new Quebec documentary about Omar Khadr's grilling by Canadian intelligence agents will be included in final arguments by his lawyers at his war-crimes trial, the directors say.
Dennis Edney, Khadr's Canadian lawyer, gave co-directors Luc Cote and Patricio Henriquez the news when he attended the premiere of "You Don't Like The Truth: Four Days Inside Guantanamo" at the Festival du nouveau cinema.
"We don't want to say it will have an impact on the result but at least they can see and perhaps some of them can be touched by what's in the film and can have some compassion or understanding," Cote said in an interview.
The Bloc Quebecois has also organized a screening for MPs in Ottawa on Wednesday.
"The prime minister is invited," said Henriquez, although a spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper didn't immediately confirm Harper would attend.
Khadr saw the film before it premiered in Montreal on Thursday, Henriquez said. Edney told the directors Khadr watched it intently but didn't say anything when it ended.
The film comes out amid reports of a deal that would see Khadr pleading guilty, apparently in exchange for serving most of his sentence in Canada.
Khadr's lawyers won't comment on the deal except to say negotiations are ongoing. The office of Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon says there is no deal.
The Toronto-born Khadr has been held at the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba for eight years. He is accused of killing an American soldier in Afghanistan during a July 2002 firefight when he was 15.
The killing is considered a war crime because the soldier was allegedly a medic, although the filmmakers contend the soldier — who had medical training — was primarily acting as a special forces commando.
The son of a purported al-Qaida financier, Khadr is also accused of providing material support for terrorism.
Trying Khadr, now 24, for alleged war crimes committed as a juvenile has drawn almost universal condemnation from legal and human rights groups.
Khadr's case has been divisive in Canada, with some people taking his side and others dismissing him as a terrorist who should rot in jail.
Find the latest from the Canadian Press here at the Tyee.
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Sask Resident
1 year ago
Not a Child Soldier
The international agreement on child soldiers identifies children under the age of 15. Omar, under international law, is considered an adult enemy combatant. The media should stop confusing the public.
How do the film makers know whether the American soldier was a medic or not? The US army says he was a medic, so Omar must have said he was a commando, thus Omar would have had to been alert and known what he did.
When Omar returns to Canada, he should be required to live in Quebec, maybe next door to Duceppe.