Two human rights groups said Wednesday they are taking legal action to stop Canadian soldiers from handing over their prisoners in Kandahar to Afghan security forces.

The practice exposes the prisoners to possible abuse and torture and is a violation of international law, Amnesty International and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association said in Ottawa.

It also contravenes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, they said.

The groups said they will file an application to the Federal Court of Canada asking for a judicial review of the practice, which is allowed under the Canada-Afghanistan Detainee Agreement, signed Dec. 18, 2005.

"Canadian soldiers must never be part of a process that could lead to torture," said Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada.

"The detainee agreement should mirror our domestic values and match our international commitments and not be a conduit to possible future human rights violations."

Amnesty International has written a letter to the federal government asking it to put an end to any transfers until the application is heard in court, Neve said.

Paul Champ, a lawyer for both organizations, said Canadian soldiers have detained about 40 to 50 people since Canada first sent troops to Afghanistan in early 2002.

"We are not talking large numbers of people here," he said at the news conference.

The transfers take place in and around Kandahar, Champ said.

Neve said Afghanistan is notorious for torturing prisoners.

Under the detainee agreement with Afghanistan, Canada is not given the right to monitor detainees after they have been handed over and has no safeguards to ensure that they will not be tortured or even executed in Afghan prisons, Neve said.

Previously, Canadian soldiers would transfer detainees directly to U.S. forces. Human rights groups have no way of knowing whether some ended up in Guantanamo Bay, he said.

Canada does inform the International Red Cross when it hands the prisoners over, he said.

Neve said both the Afghan National Security Directorate and the Afghan National Police accept detainees transferred by Canadian forces, and human rights groups say both organizations have a record of "pervasive and widespread" use of torture.

Torture still occurring, Afghanistan rights group alleges

According to the 2006 report of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, the country is suffering from the absence of the rule of law, a culture of impunity and abuse of power by government officials, a weak judicial system, slow progress on legal cases and lack of reforms in the judicial and social system.

It also notes that "the incidence of torture on detained or imprisoned persons was still occurring throughout the past year, although cases of torture have declined."

The Canadian Forces have refused to allow detainees access to legal counsel before being transferred to Afghan authorities, Neve said. This practice is contrary to the Charter of Rights, he said.

Britain and the Netherlands have negotiated through their agreements with Afghanistan the right to check on the condition of their detainees, according to Neve. Amnesty has urged Canada to do the same, Neve said.

One solution to the problem, he said, is for Canada to set up its own detention system that it could share with Afghan authorities. Such a system would also enable the Canadian Forces to train Afghan security forces in the humane treatment of prisoners.

Shirley Heafey, a board member of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said the legal action is a last resort.

"It's not the best way to get things done," she said.

She said the two groups are filing the application to say to the federal government that it must "pay attention" to the problem.

Champ said the two groups expect the application to be heard by the Federal Court by this fall.

Canada has more than 2,000 troops in Afghanistan, the majority in the southern province of Kandahar.