Gitmo Trial Ends in Guilty Plea

The youngest detainee held at Guantanamo Bay has pled guilty to killing an American soldier while he was a young teenager as part of a deal that would allow him to avoid a military trial.

Omar Khadr was 15 when he threw a grenade in an Afghanistan firefight that killed an American soldier. After his capture and eight years of legal wrangling, the Obama administration was set to begin a military trial at Guantanamo.

Last week, a military judge postponed the trial in order to allow time for the attorneys to negotiate a plea deal. Now, Khadr has pled guilty to five charges, including murder. The guilty plea makes Khadr the fifth person to be convicted in military commissions at Guantanamo Bay.

The details of the plea deal were not immediately available, but Khadr is due to be sentenced by a military jury in several days. He is expected to be repatriated to Canada after serving a year of his sentence.

Related Topics: IPT News

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