Relatives of slain U.S. soldier want urgent freeze on Omar Khadr’s assets
TORONTO — The widow of an American soldier killed in Afghanistan will ask a Canadian court on Thursday for an urgent order aimed at preserving any money the federal government paid former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Omar Khadr for breaching his rights, new documents show.
The motion before Ontario Superior Court asks for a freeze on his money — the government reportedly paid Khadr $10.5 million last week — pending the outcome of a request to recognize a US$134.1-million Utah judgment against him.
The default American judgment was handed down in 2015 in Utah in favour of Sgt. Chris Speer’s widow Tabitha and that of another former American soldier, Layne Morris.
“If the assets are not frozen pending the hearing of the application, there may be no assets left in Canada upon which the applicants may execute,” their factum states. “The applicants have repeatedly requested assurances that the assets will not be dissipated. There has been no response.”