No evidence of abuse to Afghan prisoners: military complaints commission
Last Updated: Monday, April 27, 2009 | 12:47 PM ET
CBC News
Three Afghan prisoners were not abused while in custody of Canadian soldiers in 2006, the civilian-run agency that probes military complaints has concluded.
Peter A. Tinsley, chair of the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC), on Monday released his findings into a complaint launched by an Ottawa law professor two years ago.
Dr. Amir Attaran alleged three Afghan prisoners were abused while in the custody of Canadian military police near Kandahar.
However, the commission said its probe, which reviewed 5,500 documents and interviewed 34 people, found no evidence of abuse.
"The commission found that the MPs treated the detainees humanely. There was no evidence of anything inappropriate towards the detainees during their time in the custody of MPs at [Kandahar Air Field]," the final report concluded.
Detainees received "timely and appropriate medical attention" when they arrived at the military base, said the report, adding it found no evidence of a cover-up.
The report did criticize the military police for failing to further investigate the cause of head injuries to one of the detainees, which they are required to do by the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal (CFPM), who sets out military rules and policies.
The report says there is a "surprising lack of awareness" among military police of their duties and responsibilities when it comes to injured detainees.
It recommends further study into the "status and role" of the military police to develop a more complete command and control structure.
The CFPM has accepted the report's recommendations, says the report.
Injuries to faces, heads
Attaran, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, based his allegations on Department of National Defence documents obtained under the Access to Information Act.
Attaran said the three documents were handwritten reports from Canadian military police in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.
According to the documents, three Afghan men were brought to military police by a single interrogator in one day with injuries to their faces, heads and upper bodies, said Attaran. He said according to the documents, the men had swollen eyes, cuts on their eyebrows, gashes to their forehead and slashes on their cheeks.
The men had been captured near a small town about 50 kilometres west of Kandahar. They were treated at a medical centre on the main Kandahar base.
A military report says the man with the most serious injuries — bruises and cuts to his arm, back and chest — was injured when his hands were tied behind his back.
The military initially said "appropriate force" was used against the man, who it said was a bomb-maker.
One of the detainees was described in military reports as "non-compliant," while a second was described as "extremely belligerent," taking four men to subdue him.
