OTTAWA - The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Crown appeal over whether Omar Khadr, a Canadian terror suspect held in Guantanamo prison by the United States, is entitled to see government documents tied to his case.
Lawyers for Khadr want the Canadian government to turn over any materials it has that might be relevant. The Justice Department wants the documents kept secret.
The Toronto-born Khadr was take prisoner by American soldiers in Afghanistan in 2002, when he was 15. He was sent to a U.S. military detention facility in Guantanamo, Cuba.
Canadian officials interviewed Khadr in Guantanamo and later gave summaries of the interviews to American officials.
In 2005, the Americans laid terrorism-related charges against Khadr, although they were withdrawn last June because of problems with terminology. He remains in custody in Guantanamo.
Khadr's lawyers tried unsuccessfully to obtain copies of the Canadian materials and went to Federal Court to back their demands.
That court rejected their claim, but the Federal Court of Appeal overturned the decision and ordered the lower court to determine which documents should be released.
The Crown appealed and the Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear the case.
As is usual in leave-to-appeal decisions, the high court gave no reason for the decision.
