Judges deny Khadr appeal to clear conviction

Panel backs lower court ruling that he waived rights as part of plea deal in death of U.S. soldier

- WENDY GILLIS

Nearly 15 years after pleading guilty to war crimes, including murder, at a military commission, Omar Khadr, the Toronto-born former Guantanamo Bay prisoner, has lost his bid to have the U.S. Supreme Court hear his appeal.

In a brief decision issued Monday, the U.S. justices declined to take on the case, leaving in place a lower court's conclusion that Khadr waived his appeal rights during his plea and closing a chapter in a years-long battle to vacate Khadr's convictions in the 2002 death of U.S. soldier Christopher Speer.

Neither Khadr nor his lawyer could be immediately reached for comment Monday.

The court decision is the latest development in Khadr's story, which captured attention across Canada and the U.S. amid controversy over his involvement in Speer's death and his detention at Guantanamo Bay, where he was among the youngest of detainees.

Now 37, Khadr was 15 years old when he was shot and captured in Afghanistan by U.S. forces on July 27, 2002. He had been injured at a suspected al-Qaida compound in a firefight with U.S soldiers that had killed Speer and seriously wounded another soldier.