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Utah court issues default judgment in Khadr case

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Date: Friday Oct. 28, 2005 4:11 PM ET

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah soldier wounded in Afghanistan and the widow of a soldier mortally wounded in the same battle have won a default judgment against the estate of a Toronto man whose son allegedly was involved in the battle.

The $10-million US lawsuit alleged Ahmad Sa'id Khadr was an al Qaeda financier who failed to control his then-15-year-old son, Omar, and prevent him intentionally harming others. The Khadr estate assets were frozen by the U.S. and Canadian governments and the United Nations.

U.S. army Sgt. 1st Class Layne Morris of South Jordan, Utah, lost his right eye in the July 27, 2002, battle. Three other soldiers were wounded and Sgt. 1st Class Christopher James Speer, 28, died 10 days later from his injuries.

Morris said Khadr hid inside a compound waiting for U.S. troops to come inside and tossed a grenade.

U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell in Salt Lake City told the plaintiffs Tuesday to submit evidence within 20 days that establishes the amount of damages they expect.

"This is my way of continuing the war against terrorism,'' said Morris, housing director for West Valley City.

"And hopefully there will be money for Christopher Speer's widow and their two young children.''

Morris's lawyer, Donald Winder, said he will seek money from the funds that were frozen.

Omar Khadr is being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, over protests of the Canadian government that he is a juvenile.

Morris's lawsuit said the boy's father, collected money from an Islamic front charity to run an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. He was believed killed in a gunbattle in Pakistan.

His widow returned to Canada to seek treatment for their youngest son, Karim Khadr, for wounds suffered in the same firefight that killed his father.

In April, Cassell issued an order allowing Morris to publicize the legal action in Toronto, where the Khadr family lives, after their lawyer refused to accept a copy of the lawsuit.

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