Obama's Military Commission Act to be tested by Canadian Omar Khadr

The only Western Citizen, a Canadian, still being held in Guantanamo Bay, Omar Khadr, will test Obama's new law on Military Tribunals this week.

Under the Military Commissions Act of 2009, signed into law by President Obama, evidence obtained through cruel and inhumane treatment is inadmissable.

Omar KhadrOmar Khadr, who has been a prisoner at Guantanamo for almost eight years, is charged with murdering a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan. Khadr was 15 at at the time and is considered a child soldier by some, including Amnesty International. He has been in custody for a third of his life.

Advocacy troops have taken the Canadian Governemnt to court to demand that the governemnt demand Khadr's release to Canadian authorities. In Canada Khadr could only be charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, with a maximum sentence of ten years.

Prime Minister Stephen HarperStephen Harper has declined to ask Washington to repatriate him, despite demands by Khadrs lawyers, advocay groups and opposition parties.

On Wednesday, Khadr's lawyers will argue that Omar Khadr made self-incriminating statements after being terribly mistreated by military authorities.

The Military Commissions Act of 2009 will be crucial in deciding what happens next to Omar Khadr. Khadr's case will be the first to be tried since the coming into law of this act and President Obama's plan to close the prison at Guantanamo.

The reopening of military tribunals has drawn controversy from Rights groups, including the ACLU. Jennifer Turner a spokesperson for the ACLU said, "It's particularly galling that the Obama administration, seeking to restore due process and fair trial, is beginning its military commissions with the trial of a child soldier,"

This week's proceedings are a pre-trial hearing, with the actual trial expected to start in July.

Update:

Khadr's trial was delayed today as the defence lawyers need time to digest the new procedures in the military commissions. More to follow.