Talks are underway to strike a plea deal for Guantanamo Bay prisoner Omar Khadr, a defence lawyer in the case said Tuesday.
"This involves us, the prosecution, the convening authority and potentially the Canadian government," said Barry Coburn, the head lawyer with Khadr's civilian defence team.
Repatriating the 23-year-old to Canada would be a major part of any plea bargain, Khadr's lawyers said.
The Toronto native was 15 years old when he was taken prisoner by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan following a four-hour firefight in 2002. He has been incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for nearly eight years -- a third of his life.
Khadr is charged with murder in violation of the rules of war. Prosecutors allege that Khadr threw a grenade that killed a U.S. soldier and blinded another. At least one witness has said that another person could have thrown the grenade.
Khadr's military trial will likely begin in late July, but pretrial proceedings are set to begin Wednesday.
His lawyers are expected to argue that he made self-incriminating statements only after being mistreated by military authorities.
"Every time I see Omar he is shackled to the floor," Coburn said.
Under the Military Commissions Act of 2009, signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama, evidence obtained through cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment is inadmissible in such proceedings.
The new legislation will be crucial in deciding what happens next to Khadr, who has become a test case -- the first Guantanamo detainee to be processed by the U.S. military justice system under Obama's plan to close the contentious prison.
One of the pieces of evidence that defence lawyers will seek to suppress is a video that appears to show Khadr being taught to build an improvised explosive device.
The defence will argue that prosecutors were only able to locate the tape after subjecting Khadr to inhumane treatment.
"It's a product of violation of Khadr's rights," said deputy chief defense counsel Mike Berrigan. "I'm saying there's a lot of things that were done to him, including one of the most basic -- sleep deprivation."
The prosecution says Khadr made self-incriminating statements willingly.
Khadr is the last remaining Western citizen imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay. Britain, France, Germany and Australia have had their citizens and permanent residents repatriated from the contentious prison.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government has declined demands by Khadr's lawyers, opposition parties, and rights groups to ask Washington to repatriate him.
"For the remainder of this, it is in the courts," said Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon. "We of course will await the decisions taken by the American government."
Ottawa's refusal to act in the case has angered human rights advocates such as Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada.
"Justice clearly is not possible for Omar Khadr here at Guantanamo Bay and Canada must seek his return, must ask for his repatriation," he said.
