Afghan detainees were likely tortured at the hands of known violent Afghan officials, the Liberals said Wednesday after the Harper government released 4,000 pages of records relating to Canada's treatment of detainees in the Afghanistan war.
Liberal MP Stéphane Dion, a member of the small ad hoc committee that reviewed un-redacted documents related to Canada's transfer of detainees, told reporters "the likelihood was very high" that some had been tortured because of the Canadian government's lack of due diligence.
Canadian troops had always acted professionally, Dion said, but the government had failed to track the detainees it was transferring.
When it finally did send inspectors to check on the detainees, the inspections were inadequate - at times even erratic, he said.
Dion was among a handful of MPs from the Conservative and Bloc Québécois who had reviewed some 40,000 pages of Afghan documents to determine the relevancy of allegations that Canadians knowingly sent Afghan detainees to local authorities where they were tortured - a breach of Canada's obligations under international law.
NDP defence critic Jack Harris said the new documents provide MPs with no conclusions on the actions of the government and he urged the Tories to call a public inquiry.
When Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird addressed the document dump, he said it was clear that the allegations of improper conduct "are unfounded and critics' accusations of Canadian complicity with torture or even war crimes are simply not true."
Liberal MP Stéphane Dion, a member of the small ad hoc committee that reviewed un-redacted documents related to Canada's transfer of detainees, told reporters "the likelihood was very high" that some had been tortured because of the Canadian government's lack of due diligence.
Canadian troops had always acted professionally, Dion said, but the government had failed to track the detainees it was transferring.
When it finally did send inspectors to check on the detainees, the inspections were inadequate - at times even erratic, he said.
Dion was among a handful of MPs from the Conservative and Bloc Québécois who had reviewed some 40,000 pages of Afghan documents to determine the relevancy of allegations that Canadians knowingly sent Afghan detainees to local authorities where they were tortured - a breach of Canada's obligations under international law.
NDP defence critic Jack Harris said the new documents provide MPs with no conclusions on the actions of the government and he urged the Tories to call a public inquiry.
When Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird addressed the document dump, he said it was clear that the allegations of improper conduct "are unfounded and critics' accusations of Canadian complicity with torture or even war crimes are simply not true."
© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist
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