Ontario: The Canadian government said Thursday it is dropping its appeal of a decision to grant former Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr bail while he fights a US conviction for murdering an American soldier.


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Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould made the announcement in a joint statement.


A Canadian appellate court released Khadr last year after he had spent 13 years behind bars, most of it at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.


But the previous Tory administration appealed the ruling.


Toronto-born Khadr was 15 years old when he was captured on an Afghan battlefield in 2002 and sent to the US prison.


In 2010, he was sentenced to eight years following a US military hearing in which he agreed to plead guilty to murdering a US soldier in violation of the laws of war, attempted murder, conspiracy, providing material support for terrorism and spying.


As part of the agreement, he was sent home to Canada in 2012 to serve the remainder of his sentence.


Since his release on bail, Khadr has been living with one of his lawyers in Edmonton, Alberta and taking college classes.