Lawyer Dennis Edney, best known for defending Canadian child soldier Omar Khadr, died on Saturday at the age of 77 as a result of dementia.
The lawyer's family made the announcement in an obituary published Tuesday in the Edmonton Journal.
Dennis Edney became known to the general public in 2003 when he agreed to take on the case of Omar Khadr, then the youngest detainee in the American prison at Guantanamo. The young man was arrested last year at the age of 15 after a clash between the US army and the Taliban in Afghanistan, in which an American soldier was killed by a grenade.
After pleading guilty to throwing grenades in 2010, Omar Khadr was sentenced to eight years in prison and extradited to Canada.
When he was released on parole in 2015, the young Canadian moved in with his lawyer and his partner, the Edmonton Journal recalled.
Throughout the 15-year legal process, Dennis Edney tirelessly defended his most famous client. He even went so far as to describe former Prime Minister Stephen Harper as “intolerant” who “doesn't like Muslims” after the Conservative government failed in its attempt to block Omar Khadr's parole in 2015.
In 2017, Justin Trudeau's government offered Omar Khadr $10.5 million in compensation for Canada's handling of his detention, while his sentence officially ended in 2019.
“Dennis put his heart and soul into everything. His law practice reflected his passion for justice and his indomitable spirit,” his family commented in his obituary.
Denis Edney was born in Scotland and has spent the last 45 years or so in Edmonton. Before becoming a lawyer, he was a miner, truck driver, professional footballer and carpenter.