U.S formally requests extradition of Canadian indicted on terrorist weapons charges

TORONTO --The United States formally requested Tuesday the extradition of a Canadian who was indicted in Boston last week on charges he supplied al-Qaida with weapons.

Abdullah Khadr, 24, has been held in Canada on an extradition warrant since his Dec. 17 arrest in Toronto. The United States provided evidence in support of the extradition on Tuesday, Canadian Department of Justice lawyer Robin Parker said.

Canada's Justice Minister, Vic Toews, has 30 days to decide whether or not to proceed with the request.

Khadr was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Boston.

The indictment alleges Khadr bought AK-47 and mortar rounds, rocket-propelled grenades and containers of mine components for al-Qaida for use against coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Khadr is a son of Ahmed Said Khadr, an alleged al-Qaida financier and friend of Osama bin Laden, the indictment states.

Khadr bought the weapons at the request of his Egyptian-born Canadian father, who was killed in 2003 when a Pakistani helicopter fired on a house where he was staying with other senior al-Qaida operatives, authorities said.

A Canadian judge in December denied bail for Khadr, saying his alleged terrorist links make him a flight risk.

Authorities claim Khadr confessed during questioning in a Pakistani prison, but his lawyer argued in December that the confessions were derived by torture.

Pakistani intelligence officers detained him in Islamabad in October 2004, and he was returned to Canada last December. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested him at the request of the United States.

If Canada's Justice Minister proceeds with the extradition request, the case will be heard before Canada's Superior Court. If the judge decides Khadr should be extradited, he has several avenues of appeal available to him, a process that would take months, if not years.