page_title: Ahmed Khadr
section_title: Civil lawsuit
hierarchical_section_title: Ahmed Khadr / Civil lawsuit
caption_attribution_description: Paul Cassels
context_page_description: Ahmed Said Khadr was a Canadian citizen who began working in Afghanistan in the 1980s. There he has been described as having had ties to a number of militant and Mujahideen leaders in Afghanistan, including Osama bin Laden, founder of al-Qaeda. Khadr was accused by Canada and the United States of being a "senior associate" and financier of al-Qaeda.
  During this period, Khadr worked with a number of charitable non-governmental organizations that served Afghan refugees and set up agricultural projects. He set up two orphanages for children whose parents had been killed in the Soviet invasion of the 1980s. He funded the construction of Makkah Mukarama Hospital in Afghanistan with his own savings, as well as seven medical clinics in the refugee camps of Pakistan.
  Due to his prominent regional role, Khadr helped negotiate compromises among rival warlords, power brokers and leaders to establish peace in the region. The Canadian government had considered him to be that country's highest-ranking member of al-Qaeda. In 1999, the United Kingdom added Khadr's name to a United Nations list of al-Qaeda members.
context_section_description: Sgt. Layne Morris and Sgt. Speer's widow Tabitha, both represented by Donald Winder, launched a joint civil suit against the estate of  Khadr – claiming that the father's failure to control son Omar resulted in the loss of Speers' life and Morris' right eye. Since American law does not allow civil lawsuits against "acts of war", Speer and Morris relied on the argument that Omar throwing a grenade was an act of terrorism, rather than war. Utah District Judge Paul Cassell ruled on February 17, 2006, awarding C$102.6 million in damages, approximately C$94 million to Speer and C$8 million to Morris. He said this likely marked the first time terrorist acts have resulted in civil liabilities. The Salt Lake Tribune suggested that the plaintiffs might collect funds via the U.S. Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, but since the Federal government is not bound by civil rulings, it has refused to release Khadr's frozen assets.
caption: Judge Paul Cassells
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