A man injured in the same firefight in which Omar Khadr is alleged to have killed an American special forces soldier says he believes Canada owes the former Guantanamo Bay inmate nothing.
Layne Morris was blinded in one eye on July 27, 2002 in Afghanistan. He said in a new interview that he doesnāt spend much time thinking about Khadr, but was upset to learn of Fridayās federal government apology to Khadr and the reported $10.5 million he was paid.
āHe shouldnāt be getting a dime,ā said Morris. āHe should feel grateful that heās walking the streets in the first place and ought to feel privileged to be able ā¦ to be a productive and contributing member of society.ā
Morris and Tabitha Speer, the widow of Sgt. Chris Speer, who was alleged to have been killed by Khadr, filed a lawsuit to try and stop any money from reaching Khadrās hands. Two years ago, Speer and Morris won a US-$134.1 million judgment against Khadr.
On Friday, as the apology was announced, Liberal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said that because Khadrās ācharter rights were violated ā¦ the government of Canada was required to provide a remedy."
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, meanwhile, called the settlement "disgustingā and said Khadr's return to Canada should have been remedy enough.
Morris said he doesnāt believe Khadr deserves an apology from anyone, including the U.S. government, and instead should be thanking the U.S. for saving his life.
āHis family owes humanity an apology, to be very blunt,ā said Morris. āNot the other way around. Canada owes this man nothing.ā
Khadr claims U.S. forces captured him when he was badly wounded and lying in rubble.
Morris said he doesnāt know what kind of person Khadr is now, but he knows what kind of person he was before.
āThat was a hardened and determined and disciplined terrorist,ā said Morris. āThat was my first impression and Iāve seen nothing to change my mind on that.ā
In an interview with The Canadian Press Friday, Khadr said that he wants to continue his schooling in nursing and be a productive citizen out of the public eye.
Morris said heās skeptical that Khadr is changing his life, because he hasnāt seen any proof.
āIāve never heard anything that says heās doing anything other than continuing to rely on other peopleās willingness to help him out,ā said Morris.
He also disputes the notion that Khadr was a child soldier, saying the meaning has been twisted.
āThis is a privileged young man who has grown up around the world and speaks three or four different languages,ā Morris said. āThatās not a child soldier, thatās just a bad kid.ā
In a statement issued after the apology, Khadr's lawyer, Dennis Edney said his client āwas abandoned in a hellish place called Guantanamo Bay, for 10 years, a place internationally condemned as a torture chamber.ā
