Another famous member of the terrorist Khadr family is in the news, this time because he’s being released from detention pending a court ruling that denied his extradition to the United States. Abdullah Khadr, second eldest child to Ahmed Said Khadr, was wanted by the U.S. government for procuring weapons on behalf of al-Qaeda.
But he is now free as a bird, after an Ontario court judge ordered his release from a Toronto detention centre. Abdullah had been in custody without bail since December 23, 2005. He was originally detained by Pakistani authorities before being arrested by the RCMP upon his return to Canada. The Americans paid a U.S.$500,000 bounty to the Pakistani police to hold him in custody before he returned here.
Superior Court Judge Christopher Speyer granted a stay of proceedings in the case on the grounds that Abdullah was not granted “prompt” access to Canadian consular services in Pakistan. He also cited “gross misconduct” by the government of Canada.
Far be it from me to argue with a court decision, since Judge Speyer is certainly more qualified than I am to make decisions on such matters. But it does prompt the question: why do we protect terrorists and extradite potheads?
Marc Emery, the so-called “Prince of Pot”, was extradited to the United States in May to serve a five year sentence in a federal penitentiary. His heinous crime? Selling marijuana seeds by mail to U.S. customers.
One man procures weapons for al-Qaeda and the other sells a product that isn’t even an illegal substance until it’s grown. But the seed seller is the guy who gets the boot.
This coincides with a recent poll that suggests that Canadians don’t really have much of a problem with pot. A Leger Marketing poll for QMI Agency found that 21% think the federal government should decriminalize marijuana, and even 34% think it can be legalized and controlled.
Compare that to this poll, which suggests that most Canadians don’t really care much for the Khadr family, with 52% of respondents agreeing with the statement that they have “no sympathy” for Omar Khadr, Canada’s most famous “child soldier.”
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