Lawyer: US ruling can help Canadian ex-Guantanamo detainee's appeal of war crimes convictions
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
A lawyer for a former Guantanamo Bay detainee says a U.S. court decision in an unrelated case helps his client's appeal of his convictions by a military commission.
A U.S appeals court on Friday set aside the conviction of Ali Hamza al-Bahlul, who allegedly produced an al-Qaida recruiting video and served as Osama bin Laden's personal assistant and public relations secretary.
Dennis Edney, a lawyer for Toronto-born Omar Khadr, a former Guantanamo detainee, says the new ruling confirms his belief that Khadr's convictions were not recognized war crimes and his appeal should now be allowed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Khadr pleaded guilty in 2010 to five war crime offenses, including killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan when he was 15.
Khadr was transferred to Canada from Guantanamo in 2012.