Thaindian News

Washington, Nov 1 (ANI): A US military tribunal has sentenced the self-confessed Islamist militant, Omar Khadr, to 40 years in jail on charges that include murdering a US soldier and conspiring to commit terrorist acts, but his plea deal limited his sentence to eight years.

According to the BBC, the verdict came on Sunday after a nine-hour deliberation by the seven-member military panel spread over two days.

Twenty four-year-old Khadr reportedly pleaded guilty to five war crimes charges at the Guantanamo Bay tribunal last week, including conspiracy with al-Qaeda terrorists and murder in violation of the laws of war.

In a statement accompanying last week’s plea, Khadr acknowledged that he was ineligible for protection as a prisoner of war under the Geneva conventions because he was not a member of an organised regular fighting force.

He also admitted to training for combat, building and planting bombs, attacking US troops in a firefight in Afghanistan in July 2002, and having worked as a translator for al-Qaeda and another militant faction.

Khadr, originally from Toronto, had lived in Pakistan and Afghanistan with his father Ahmad Khadr, whom the US had described as a high-level al-Qaeda militant with links to Osama Bin Laden.

“Khadr indicated that his father made statements that the training was to be used in attacks against the Jews because the Jews are always fighting,” the plea document stated.

According to the document, Khadr had been told about a 1,500 dollars (950 pounds) reward for each American killed and added: “Omar Khadr indicated that when he heard about the reward, he wanted to kill a lot of Americans to get lots of money.”

Khadr was detained in 2002 at the age of 15 and is the fifth Guantanamo inmate to be convicted at the military tribunals.

Under his plea deal, the native of Toronto is expected to be sent home to Canada after serving one year at Guantanamo Bay, the report said.

The US is reportedly the first country since World War II to prosecute a person at a war crimes tribunal for actions allegedly committed as a juvenile. (ANI)