Canada’s top court rules government can decide whether to seek Guantanamo detainee’s return

Canada’s top court won’t force detainee’s return

TORONTO — Canada’s Supreme Court will not force the government to seek the repatriation of the youngest detainee held by the U.S. at Guantanamo Bay.

Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper has steadfastly refused to request the return of Omar Khadr, the last Western detainee held at the prison at the U.S. Navy base in Cuba. Harper has said the U.S. legal process must be allowed to play itself out.

The Supreme Court ruling Friday overturns a lower court ruling that ordered the Canadian government to seek Khadr’s return.

Khadr, who was born in Toronto, is now 23 but was only 15 when he was captured after allegedly killing an American soldier in a 2002 battle in Afghanistan. Authorities say his family has close links to al-Qaida.