EDMONTON—Omar Khadr walked out of an Edmonton court Monday a free man.

Chief Justice Mary Moreau found that Khadr, between years spent in custody and under strict court supervision while on bail, had more than served his original sentence.

On Monday, she lifted all of Khadr’s remaining conditions, meaning he will be a free man for the first time in his adult life.

“I am really happy with the decision today, and I think it’s been a while, but I am happy it’s here,” said Khadr, speaking to media following Monday’s decision. “Right now, I am going to try to focus on recovering and not worrying about having to go back to prison.”

Khadr, a Canadian citizen, was first locked away in Guantanamo Bay after his father left him with a group of Islamic militants in Afghanistan in 2002, when Khadr was just 15 years old.

During a fight between the militants and U.S. forces, an American soldier was killed, another was seriously wounded, and two Afghani translators died.

Khadr was accused of throwing a grenade that killed American soldier Christopher Speer. Khadr was also seriously wounded.

Khadr was locked in Guantanamo for eight years, where in 2010 he pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder in violation of the law of war, conspiracy, providing material support for terrorism and spying after being assured he would not serve more than eight years and would be transferred to Canada after one year.

Khadr was transferred to Canada in 2012, where he spent two years and nine months between maximum- and medium-security prisons. In all, Khadr spent nearly 13 years behind bars.

Khadr’s 2010 sentence would have ended last October, however Khadr was released on bail in 2015 pending an appeal of his convictions.

Khadr’s confession, convictions and imprisonment have been condemned by civil rights advocates and even the United Nations.

Khadr said he falsely confessed to secure his release to Canada, having already endured years of torturous conditions inside the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, an American prison in Cuba infamous for a litany of human rights abuses.

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The Supreme Court of Canada found Khadr’s charter rights had been infringed upon when he was interrogated by Canadian officials, saying in a 2010 decision that “the interrogation of a youth detained without access to counsel, to elicit statements about serious criminal charges while knowing that the youth had been subjected to sleep deprivation and while knowing that the fruits of the interrogations would be shared with the prosecutors, offends the most basic Canadian standards about the treatment of detained youth suspects.”

Khadr sued the Canadian government for infringing on his rights, and that lawsuit was settled in 2017 for $10.5 million and an official apology from the Canadian government.

While Khadr is working to appeal his convictions in the United States, a process that has, according to his lawyer Nathan Whitling, “been obstructed and delayed,” Moreau found that Khadr’s past imprisonment and nearly four years he has spent living under court-imposed restrictions while on bail awaiting his appeal satisfy his original sentence.

While adult offenders would not be able to credit time spent on bail towards their sentence, Moreau said the Youth Criminal Justice Act allows “wide discretion” in modifying a sentence based on a youth offender’s circumstances.

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Moreau found that the conditions Khadr had been living under while on bail “mirrored” those that would have been imposed under court-ordered supervision as part of his sentence.

During his time on bail, spent in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta., Moreau said Khadr has abided by all of his conditions. Coupled with the time Khadr has already served behind bars, Moreau found Khadr had effectively already served his sentence.

“He has had perfect behaviour since his release, living under these conditions, and there is no legal basis to impose them any longer,” Whitling said.

Khadr will now be allowed to have a passport and travel freely, and speak to whoever he wishes — including his sister, Zaynab Khadr, whom he was previously banned from communicating with because of past comments she made in support of terrorist groups.

“This is essentially the end of the road,” said Whitling, adding that Moreau’s decision Monday cannot be appealed.

Whitling said Khadr plans on pushing to have his convictions in the United States overturned. “We hope to expunge them completely so they are not on his record anymore.”

Khadr is also still facing a civil lawsuit by the family of the soldier he is alleged to have killed. A U.S. court has already ruled in favour of the family, who are trying to have the $134-million judgment served against Khadr in Canada.

After Moreau delivered her decision, supporters in the gallery cried and embraced each other.

“It was justice denied and justice finally arrived at,” said Janice Williamson, a University of Alberta professor in English and Film Studies who edited the book Omar Khadr, Oh Canada, who was in court Monday to hear the decision.

While Khadr’s appearances in Canadian court may be over, Khadr is still being judged in the court of public opinion.

News that he had purchased a strip mall in Edmonton saw business owners harassed and threatened, with angry mobs taking to social media rather than the streets and posting negative reviews.

Khadr’s home address was circulated online, spurring violent rhetoric, including thinly veiled threats to burn his house down.

“It comes from ignorance,” Williamson said. “It’s gone on so long, and has had so many iterations of court appeals, people don’t really know what the story is.”

Williamson said politicians are partly to blame, saying former prime minister Stephen Harper used Khadr as a “dog whistle” as part of a campaign appealing to Islamophobia.

“That has had an enduring effect and I think it is really appalling,” Williamson said.

With files from The Canadian Press

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