The psychiatrist who told jurors that Omar Khadr is an angry member of "al Qaeda royalty" has been criticized for following the work of Nicolai Sennels, a Danish psychologist who believes Muslims suffer from the effects of inbreeding.
Dr. Michael Welner, an experienced and well-known psychiatrist who is testifying at Khadr's sentencing hearing for the prosecution, was cross-examined by defence lawyers Wednesday.
They noted that Welner's work is informed by articles written by Sennels, who also claims that children raised in Islamic families are taught aggression and criminality through the Qu'ran.
"If a Muslim does not react aggressively when criticized he is seen as weak, not worth trusting and he thus loses social status immediately," Sennels wrote in one article.
In another article, Sennels wrote that massive inbreeding "within the Muslim culture during the last 1,400 years may have done catastrophic damage to their gene pool."
Defence lawyers are disputing claims made by Welner, based on his connection to Sennels. Under cross-examination, Welner acknowledged he spoke to Sennels before concluding that Khadr, 24, was "highly dangerous."
When he began testifying on Tuesday, the New York-based psychiatrist said that Khadr has shown little or no remorse for killing a U.S. special forces soldier, and that he is close to his "radicalized" family in Canada. He also described Khadr as an angry, manipulative, "radical jihadist."
Welner has also told the military tribunal that Khadr is a devout Muslim who is popular with fellow inmates who live in Camp 4, where he is housed at the Guantanamo Bay jail.
"He murdered," Welner told the tribunal on Tuesday. "He murdered an American soldier, which is the ultimate prize in Camp 4."
But under cross-examination, Welner said his opinion of Khadr was never reviewed by colleagues to guard against bias and to guarantee that he followed best practices.
He also admitted that it is the first time he has assessed someone as a risk to public safety for being a "radical jihadist."
At the request of prosecutors, Welner interviewed Khadr for seven hours earlier this year. But the interview did not focus on whether Khadr could safely be released back into society.
There are also no psychological tests to determine the "future dangerousness" of an Islamic extremist, the jury heard.
Members of the military jury will hear from other prosecution witnesses next, including the widow of U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer -- the soldier killed by a grenade that Khadr threw during a firefight in Afghanistan eight years ago.
The defence will later call their own witnesses to testify at the sentencing hearing, including their own psychiatrist who CTV's Paul Workman said is likely to provide "a different character assessment" of Khadr that is more sympathetic.
After hearing from the prosecution and defence witnesses, the military jurors will have a chance to hand down their own sentence to Khadr.
However, the 24-year-old Khadr will only serve the sentence they hand down if it is less severe than a plea deal he has arranged with the prosecution.
The jurors have not been told that Khadr's plea deal puts a limit on his sentence, reportedly at eight years.
The deal also allows Khadr to apply for transfer to Canadian custody after serving an additional year in U.S. custody.
Earlier this week, Khadr pleaded guilty to five war-crimes charges and admitted that he had thrown the grenade that killed Speer in July 2002, when he was 15 years old.
Khadr was badly injured in the firefight, and was subsequently captured by U.S. forces.
Since his capture, he has spent more than one-third of his life in U.S. custody.
With files from The Canadian Press
