A forensic psychiatrist has testified at the sentencing hearing of Omar Khadr that he is “likely” to become a jihadist following his release from Guantanamo Bay. Dr.Michael Welner identified three important factors that would make his reintegration into Canada — something his supporters have consistently advocated for — difficult:

First, Omar Khadr has shown an almost complete lack of remorse for his crimes. Whether it be the IEDs he helped build and plant, the war crimes he helped commit, or the soldier he has admitted to murdering, Khadr hasn’t shown any genuine remorse. His emotionless attitude about it all would indicate that he is not sorry for his crimes, and would even suggest he’s proud of his accomplishments.

In apologizing to the wife of the soldier he murdered in Afghanistan, Khadr even drew a parallel between himself and apartheid prisoner Nelson Mandela saying, “you won’t gain anything from hate.”

“Love and forgiveness are more constructive, they will bring people together and solve lots of problems,” he added.

Khadr said to Sergeant Christopher Speer’s widow: “I am really, really sorry for the pain I have caused you and your family.”

She refused his apology, saying she would always consider him a murderer. And according to a forensic psychiatrist, she’s probably right.

Khadr has also refused to speak to any psychologists during his entire eight-year detention, Welner testified, which means that he hasn’t attempted to seek help for his terrorist pathology. This would indicate that his admission of guilt is more self-serving than a sudden act of conscientiousness. In other words, he’s going through the motions.

The third point raised by Welner is Khadr’s continued ties to al-Qaeda. Not only has the young terror apprentice never apologized for his actions — save the seemingly insincere one to the widow — he has a family in Canada that is also unrepentant for their militant views.

His mother and sister, famous for going on the CBC and complaining that Canada is a horrible place full of homosexuals and drug addicts, have yet to admit culpability in the poisoning of the minds of the male children in the family. That the family continues to have connections in Pakistan and Afghanistan is doubtless, though the Canadian government would likely never issue him a passport again.

Welner said Khadr has “been marinating in a radical jihadist community.”

This is no doubt true as well. And because of his myriad supporters here in Canada who will convince him he is a victim in the entire equation, it’s likelier he will come to see himself through the eyes of the sympathizers who will surround and shelter him during the repatriation process here.

It should at least concern people that Omar Khadr has never sought out the psychological services offered to him in Guantanamo Bay. In most criminal cases this is a red flag of remorselessness, and often weighs in the decisions of parole boards.

Before Khadr is released back into Canadian society — though that may be nearly a decade from now — I hope he is forced to undergo a psychiatric examination. If not for his own sake, then at least for ours.