US paid $500,000 to Pakistan for suspected Canadian terrorist

Abdullah Khadr's brother, Omar, is the only Canadian prisoner being held at the U.S. detention camp for terrorism suspect in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Canadian government is facing increasing domestic and international calls to press the U.S. government for his release.

The United States government's bounty programme has been well publicized. It began in the 1980s and was strengthened after the September 11 attacks in 2001.

"The general practice is in the public domain," Mosley said in justifying his decision to release the news. He said it was clear that Canadian officials had been told that a bounty had been paid after Abdullah Khadr's capture.

"The fact that a foreign state paid a bounty for the apprehension of a Canadian citizen abroad and that Canadian officials were aware of it at an early stage is also a matter in which the public would have legitimate interest," Mosley wrote.