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US appeals court rules that al-Qaida member waived right to appeal war crime convictions – JURIST

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on Tuesday that former Guantánamo Bay detainee Omar Ahmed Khadr waived his right to appeal his war crime convictions under the Military Commissions Act. Circuit Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson authored the opinion of the court.The court ruled that Khadr waived his right to appeal his convictions in his pretrial agreement with the federal prosecutor on his case. In the agreement, Khadr agreed to plead guilty to all his charges and waive his appeal rights for a sentence not to exceed eight years. The court ruled Khadr “knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily” waived his right to appeal his conviction. Additionally, the court decided that Khadr “expressly waived the right to appeal his conviction, sentence and detention.” The court also noted the importance of allowing criminal defendants to waive their rights to appeal as a “bargaining chip to use in negotiating a plea agreement with the Government.”Senior Circuit Judge Rober Wilkins wrote a dissenting opinion, arguing that the court did not have jurisdiction to hear the case because there was no “final order” to review on appeal. Wilkins asserted that Khadr entered into a guilty plea in open court however his appeal waiver was not executed until five days later. Because of this, Wilkins argued that the court did not have jurisdiction to review the plea agreement. On the other hand, the majority opinion ruled that the court did have jurisdiction to review the validity of the plea agreement itself. The majority ruled that the agreement is “valid and enforceable.”Khadr is a Canadian citizen who was captured and arrested at the age of 15 in Afghanistan for his involvement with terrorist organisation al-Qaida. He was charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, supporting terrorism, and spying.