Interrogation Video Of Distraught Omar Khadr Released On Internet

A jailhouse video showing the interrogation of a then 16-year-old Canadian terror suspect Omar Khadr was released Tuesday.

Sections of the video, shot with a hidden camera at the notorious GuantanamoBay holding facility, depict the teen looking visibly disturbed at times, weeping and burying his face in his hands while being grilled by a Canadian spy service agent.

Khadr, who is now 21, is accused by the U.S. of tossing a grenade that killed an American soldier during a fierce battle in Afghanistan in July 2002.  He suffered serious injuries during the battle and was found in the rubble of a b****ed-out compound, near death.

Lawyers for Khadr hope the video's release will help the effort to bring him back to Canada.  He faces trial before a military commission in October.

"All we can do is put the evidence that we received out before them and let (Canadians) rely on their own particular sense of conscience," said Dennis Edney. "Which one of us would wish our children to be treated as Omar Khadr?"

More than seven hours of video were released, and Edney believes Canadians will be swayed by the footage.

"We're hoping that the Canadian public will recognize that if you put aside any concerns of guilt or innocence -- that's to be determined in a properly constituted court -- and look at compassion...this kid has suffered enough," he said.

"This kid is not a terrorist."

During one part of the video, the agent accuses Khadr of using his injuries and emotional state to avoid answering pertinent questions.

"You're not going to believe me," Khadr says.

"Well, look me straight in the eyes and tell me that you're being honest," the unidentified agent says.

"I am being honest," Khadr replies, rubbing his teary eyes.

"You can't even bear to look at me when you're saying that.put your hand down."

"No, you don't care about me."

"Well, I do care about you."

The video footage from February 2003 was made public under Canadian court orders and offers a rare glimpse into GuantanamoBay and interrogation by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. 

Khadr pulls up his shirt at one point to exhibit the wounds he suffered in the firefight, complaining that he hadn't received medical attention.

"They look like they're healing well to me," the agent says, adding Khadr is getting good care.

"No, I'm not. You're not here (at Guantanamo)," he responds.

Khadr's sister, Zaynab Khadr, said watching the video was emotional.

"Very sad," she said. "I mean he is my brother. And he is my baby brother for that."

Reports made public last week showed Khadr was abused at the U.S. naval base-turned-prison on the tip of Cuba, where he remains the lone western citizen still in detention.

He was apparently subjected to the "frequent flyer program" - in which one is consistently deprived of sleep over three weeks with the hopes of softening the prisoner up for questioning.

Before the video's release, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said there was nothing he could do to push for the Toronto-born Khadr's return to Canada, saying the Americans had begun legal proceedings.

One of Khadr's lawyers, Nate Whitling, said he hoped that the release of the video would change that now.

"We hope that the Canadian government will finally come to recognize that the so-called legal process that has been put in place to deal with Omar Khadr's situation is grossly unfair and abusive," Whitling said from Edmonton.

"It's not appropriate to simply allow this process to run its course."

Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae called Khadr a "child soldier" and said he should be immediately brought back to Canada for treatment and rehabilitation.

To watch raw video from the interrogation, click here.  The remaining hours of footage were to be released later Tuesday.