Omar Khadr fights attempt by soldier's widow to freeze his assets

Lawyers for the widow of a slain U.S. soldier and his injured colleague haveoffered only "scant evidence" that OmarKhadrmight fritter away his settlement money before having to deal with a $134-million US judgment against him, according to court documents.

In afactumfiled in Ontario Superior Court Wednesday, lawyers representingKhadr say the legal team representing TabithaSpeerand Sgt. LayneMorrishasrelied on hearsay "so vague and unreliable as to be of zero probativevalue."

The Canadian-bornKhadrwas 15 when he was captured by U.S. troops in July 2002following afirefightat a suspectedal-Qaedacompound in Afghanistan that resulted in the death of Speer's husband, Sgt. 1st Class ChristopherSpeer,aU.S. special forces medic. Morris was injured in the firefight andlost an eye as a result of his injury.

A U.S. judge awarded Speer and Morris $134million in damages in 2015.

Speer and Morris'sattempt to get an injunction to freeze Khadr's assetsis based on "scant evidence" that consists of "double and triple hearsay statements drawn from media reports and Wikipedia," according to the factum, filed by Khadr's lawyer, Nathan Whitling.

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On Thursday, the Ontario Superior Court will hold a hearing on the injunction request.

Khadr's factumis a response to one filed earlier this week by Speer and Morris who launched the wrongful death and injury lawsuit against Khadrin Utah in 2014.

Last week, the Canadian government announced it hasapologized to Khadrand awarded him a financial settlement as part ofthe civil suithis lawyerslaunched against Ottawa for wrongful imprisonment in Guantanamo Bay. The government said details of the settlement are confidential, but sources told CBC News the amount totalled$10.5 million.

In early June, lawyers forSpeer and Morris filed an application in Ontario Superior Court to recognizeand enforce the $134-millionjudgment.

• Read the Speer and Morris families' factum (PDF)
• Read the Khadr factum(PDF)

They are nowseeking an injunction to freeze Khadr's settlement money, arguing, in court documents,that there is a real risk Khadr"will dissipate his assets" and makeit impossible to enforcethe judgment.

But Whitlingwrites that their key evidence relies upon an unnamed source in a Globe and Mail article that stated that "one source told the Globe that the money has been legally sheltered to prevent Ms. Speer's lawyers from gaining access."

"The court cannot assess the credibility or reliabilityof the information, and cannot even determine whether the source's own informationconstituteshearsay, doublehearsay, lies or speculation," Whitlingwrites.

That one line from the Globe, according to Whitling, is notcapable of "proving anything, much less that the respondent is hiding or dissipating assetsin an attemptto defeat prospective creditors."

In their factum, Speerand Morris also argue that Khadrcould provide some settlement funds to his family members "who appear to be unrepentant supporters of violent extremists."

But Whitlingrejectsthat argument, saying theircharacterization of Khadr's family relies on news reports and Wikipediapages. As well, this "evidence," Whitlingwrites, is not even relevant to the point at issue.

The Utah judgment was almost entirely dependent on Khadr's confession to having killed Speer. The admission formed part of his 2010 plea bargain to five war crimes before a widely discredited American military commission in Guantanamo Bay, where he was held for 10 years.

Utah judgment vs. Guantanamo treatment

Khadr did not defend himself in the Utah case he was in jail in Canada serving out the sentence given to him by the military commission.

His factum notes it has always been "uncontroversial" that Khadr as a minor was detained without charge in a "legal black hole" and without access to a lawyer or family for years.

As a result, the American applicants have not shown a strong case for enforcement of the Utah judgment here given Canadian courts are statute barred from enforcing foreign judgments if they would be counter to Canadian public policy, the factum says.

"The applicants will undoubtedly ask this court to pretend that their Utah judgment is entirely independent from the [Guantanamo] prosecution and has nothing to do with the cruel and inhuman treatment inflicted upon [Khadr]," Whitling states. "But even a cursory review of the applicants' complaint refutes that contention."