TORONTO — Prison authorities ignored favourable information in unfairly branding former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Omar Khadr as a maximum security inmate, according to Canada’s prison ombudsman.

In a recent letter to a top prison official obtained by The Canadian Press, the Office of the Correctional Investigator urges another look at Khadr’s classification.

“The OCI has not found any evidence that Mr. Khadr’s behaviour while incarcerated has been problematic and that he could not be safely managed at a lower security level,” the letter states.

“I recommend that Mr. Khadr’s security classification be reassessed taking into account all available information and the actual level of risk posed by the offender, bearing in mind his sole offence was committed when he was a minor.”