Watchdog to probe alleged detainee abuse
A military police watchdog group is gearing up to investigate whether Canadian Forces personnel abused Afghan prisoners in their cells in Kandahar.
The Military Police Complaints Commission expects to hire two investigators in the coming months to help examine the allegations made last year by some Canadian Forces police officers. The commission will also receive more documents about the alleged incidents from the Canadian military in the next two weeks, says Michael Tansey, a spokesman for the independent federal watchdog.
“Once hired, the investigators will provide support for the review and analysis of materials, the identification of witnesses, as well as the preparation of investigation and interview plans and the conduct of interviews with the witnesses,” Tansey noted.
There are no timelines yet on how long the “public interest investigation” will take.
Some Canadian military police officers allege Afghan detainees were abused in their cells in Kandahar during surprise raids by Canadian guards in 2010 and 2011. Officers have also recently raised concerns that many Afghans taken prisoner by Canadian troops were innocent farmers or workers and not members of the Taliban or al-Qaida.
The complaints commission has already interviewed a number of individuals aware of the cell raids by Canadian military police and confirmed that several detainees were so scared they defecated and urinated on the spot during one such foray into the cells.
But the Liberal government has dismissed concerns about how Afghan prisoners were treated.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, a former Canadian Forces officer, has rejected calls for the government to hold a judicial inquiry into the overall treatment of those detainees. He said Canadian military personnel conducted themselves properly at all times.
Sajjan’s refusal to allow for a more extensive investigation is in stark contrast to the Liberals’ position when they were in opposition. They accused the Conservative government of covering up detainee abuse and demanded a public inquiry.
Department of National Defence documents, obtained through the Access to Information law by Postmedia, acknowledged the 2010 and 2011 cell raids occurred and suggested the situation had become out of control. The military police taking part “lacked guidance and oversight” the DND documents from 2015 noted.
The Canadian Forces have said the raids were conducted between December 2010 and January 2011 in Kandahar and designed to maintain military police preparedness.
Critics say Sajjan’s work in Afghanistan with the Canadian Forces, which included setting the stage for the killing or capture of some 1,500 Afghan insurgents, was enough to disqualify him from making the decision not to conduct a public inquiry into alleged abuses of detainees.
Sajjan could have been a potential witness for any such investigation, said Craig Scott, a law professor and former NDP MP who initiated an e-petition that called for an inquiry into detainee treatment.
Scott said Sajjan had dealings with Afghan officials, some of whom were later accused of torturing people.