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Abdullah Khadr is seen here leaving his attorney's office in this Dec. 2005 file photo. (image courtesy The Globe and Mail) Maha Khadr (right) and Mrs. El-Samnah leave a news conference in Toronto in this Feb. 9, 2005. (CP / Adrian Wyld)

Emotional testimony from Khadr's grandmother

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CTV Toronto: Chris Eby reports at the courthouse
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Date: Fri. Dec. 23 2005 9:07 AM ET

After a day of emotional and confused testimony from his grandmother, Abdullah Khadr will learn on Friday if a court will grant him bail.

The 25-year-old was arrested in Scarborough on Dec. 17 by the RCMP. Police were acting on a provisional warrant issued by the federal Justice Department at the request of the U.S. government.

In a Toronto courtroom Thursday, 66-year-old Fatima Elsamnah appeared unsettled from the moment she took the stand at her grandson's bail hearing, The Canadian Press reports.

Elsamnah said she would risk her $300,000 house and pledge to be a surety if Khadr is released on bail while an extradition hearing proceeds.

When asked about first hearing the allegations against her grandson, Elsamnah began to cry.

Elsamnah also changed her story twice while testifying.

Initially she claimed to have heard the allegations against Khadr for the first time in court. But under questioning from Crown lawyer Robin Parker, she recalled a newspaper article from two days earlier.

Her story changed again when she told Patrick she was questioned by a reporter about the allegations a day before the newspaper article was published.

Elsamnah claimed the sadness and turmoil surrounding her family was affecting her memory.

Khadr is accused of buying weapons for al Qaeda and being involved in a plot to kill Pakistan's prime minister. The allegations are contained in an affidavit from the RCMP.

The U.S. government claims Khadr confessed in a Pakistani jail to buying weapons for forces in Afghanistan in 2003.

The American government plans to charge Khadr with:

  • Possession of a destructive device
  • Conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals outside the country.
  • Conspiracy to use a destructive device against U.S. nationals and U.S. property outside the country

If convicted in the U.S., he faces a maximum life sentence.

Khadr has not had a chance to respond to the unproven allegations. He has been in custody since his arrest last week.

If Khadr is released on bail the process to extradite him will continue.

The U.S. government has 60 days to make their request and provide supporting documentation.

After that, a Canadian international assistance group will have another 60 days to consider the case before the extradition process begins.

Khadr's lawyers have said they will fight extradition.

With files from CTV's Chris Eby and The Canadian Press.

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It is about time - as a grandparent I have watched our kids (who were allowed to fail although I do remember some nagging on our part) learn, I have watched our children now micro-manage their children. A big part of it is the fact that there are predators out there and an extreme reluctance on the parents part to alllow freedom that might result in the children becoming victims.

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