September 10, 2017 – Anna Mehler Paperny, Reuters
TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada has deported hundreds of people to countries designated too dangerous for civilians, with more than half of those people being sent back to Iraq, according to government data obtained by Reuters.
May 3, 2016 – Anna Mehler Paperny, Global News
Canadians who returned from Afghanistan bearing psychic scars find themselves traumatized and out of the military in far greater numbers than counterparts suffering from mental illnesses unrelated to the Afghan mission.
November 28, 2014 – Anna Mehler Paperny, Global News
He knew something was wrong when he returned from Afghanistan in late 2006.
But it wasn’t until a Christmas parade a few months later, when Archer and his comrades were handed weapons to carry, that something snapped.
Janet Hamlin
ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY
September 29, 2012 – Globe and Mail
For the first time in 10 years and three months, Omar Khadr’s fate rests outside the hands of politicians and military personnel.
Toronto-born Mr. Khadr left Guantanamo Bay’s detention centre in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday morning via U.S. military aircraft. He set foot on Canadian soil just over three hours later.
Muhammed Muheisen/The Associated Press
Monday, May 28, 2012 – Globe and Mail
ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY
There’s no shortage of strategies to improve life in Afghanistan. But this is the only one centred around rolling heavy neon balls down wooden lanes, sending white pins flying.
Faced with a hometown she couldn’t recognize, Meena Rahmani drew inspiration from her life as an immigrant in suburban Canada: She opened a bowling alley.
The Strikers is Afghanistan’s first and, so far, only bowling alley. If Ms. Rahmani has her way, it won’t be for long.
Photo by Graeme Smith/Globe and Mail
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 – Globe and Mail
ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY
If there is to be a large-scale international move to boost Afghan security, following a subterranean Taliban-assisted escape from Sarpoza prison early Monday morning, it is not likely to come from Canada. That will probably fall to U.S. forces coming to pick up the pieces in Kandahar province.
Some note this week’s escape highlights the questionable legacy of Canada’s efforts in Kandahar just as troops prepare to hand over responsibility.
But Canadians who’ve worked near Sarpoza argue the audacious getaway also indicates just how Sisyphean a task it is to foster even a fragile sense of security in this volatile Afghan province.
Thursday, July 15, 2010 – Globe and Mail
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Few people would want Jeffrey Colwell’s job.
The 44-year-old Marine colonel, career officer and father of three boys was tapped earlier this year to lead the defence team for terrorism suspects being tried at the Guantanamo Bay military tribunals. That puts him in charge of the dozens of lawyers representing the most notorious prisoners in the world, in the most notorious and controversial prison in the world.
This week was Col. Colwell’s first taste of Omar Khadr’s case, at a truncated and chaotic pretrial hearing for the Canadian charged with murder and conspiracy to engage in terrorism.
And he loves the gig.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
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GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA — After eight years in U.S. custody, Omar Khadr had the floor.
Appearing in a courtroom at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Canadian terror suspect publicly explained himself in his own words for the first time Monday morning, condemning the military commission set to try him as a “sham process” so divorced from legal norms that he’s as well trained to defend himself as any lawyer.
“The unfairness of the rules will make a person so depressed that he will admit to any allegations or take a plea offer that will satisfy the U.S. government,” he said.
Guantanamo Bay’s youngest inmate, and its only Canadian, spoke more forcefully and at greater length than ever before. The 23-year-old expressed his contempt not only for the military tribunal, but for a plea deal offered to him within the past month.
Monday, July 12, 2010 – Globe and Mail
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GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL STATION, CUBA — In a putty-coloured air-traffic-centre-turned-courtroom Monday morning, the fate of Omar Khadr’s military trial, and the evidence the prosecution can present, will be up to Omar Khadr and his judge.
Military Justice Colonel Patrick Parrish will call on the Canadian charged with terrorism to confirm a statement he submitted Wednesday firing the American lawyers who have been conducting his defence at the military tribunal here.
That could leave the 23-year-old, who was 15 and severely wounded when U.S. forces apprehended him in Afghanistan and charged him with murder and supporting terrorism, to fend for himself in court.
Friday, July 9, 2010
ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY
Omar Khadr’s decision to fire his lawyers days before his next court appearance effectively cancels what was supposed to be a final round of pre-trial hearings for the only Canadian detainee in Guantanamo Bay, and could kill his defence team’s last efforts to suppress evidence they allege was obtained through torture.
Mr. Khadr, whose charges include murder and supporting terrorism, was supposed to begin his trial next month. Now it’s not clear when that will go forward and whether Mr. Khadr, who was 15 when prosecutors allege he threw a grenade that killed a U.S. soldier in an Afghan firefight, will be tried in Guantanamo without any real defence counsel.
It also means the Toronto-born Mr. Khadr will make a rare appearance speaking on his own behalf on Monday – unless he decides to boycott proceedings, which he did earlier this year.
a business of misfits 