The federal government is trying for a third time to block public hearings into whether it allowed the transfer of prisoners to Afghan authorities, despite having knowledge they could be tortured, according to a Globe and Mail report.

The hearings, which would be conducted by an independent federal policing watchdog, the Military Police Complaints Commission, were due to begin Dec. 4.

The Justice Department filed an Oct. 30 application seeking a Federal Court order "prohibiting the chairperson [of the MPCC] and the commission from investigating" the allegations, the Globe and Mail reported Friday.

Government lawyers have argued that the commission should only be allowed to investigate specific cases of torture, not all prisoners that were under a torture risk, according to the Globe and Mail.

The government has issued two previous calls to the Federal Court to stop the public hearings — the first occurred in April, the second in September.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had previously pledged the government's co-operation in the probe, said in April he believed the commission was acting outside its jurisdiction.

Government lawyers argued in April the handling of detainees is a military operation — not a policing issue.

Both review applications are still in the procedural stages and are yet to be heard in court.

It is now unclear when — or if — the MPCC hearings will be held.

Report suggests government knew of possible abuse

In February 2007, the MPCC received a complaint from Amnesty International and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Union over the treatment of transferred detainees, saying Ottawa was violating the Geneva Conventions.

Under the conventions, it is a war crime to turn over prisoners to a party who might abuse them.

In April 2007, the Globe published a report it had received under the Access to Information Act that suggested the government knew prisoners in Afghanistan jails could be subject to poor conditions.

Although parts were blacked out, the newspaper said it was able to confirm that these blacked-out sections showed that the Canadian Embassy in Kabul had alerted the government last year that prisoners could be tortured once transferred to Afghan detention centres.

Amnesty International and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Union alleged in their complaint the government authorized the transfer of prisoners on at least 18 occasions, knowing the detainees were likely to be tortured.

The chairman of the MPCC, Peter Tinsley, ordered private hearings into the allegations.

Ottawa, MPCC go back and forth

But last spring, Tinsley said a lack of co-operation by the government had forced him to make the hearing a public one. Tinsley said the government was refusing to provide the commission with full access to relevant documents and information. He said an inquiry was needed because it would give him subpoena power to get the documents.

In September, the commission expanded the scope of the investigation to beyond the 18 alleged cases of abuse.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay has defended the government's role in the probe, saying in April that there has been a "tremendous amount of transparency" and participation with the commission.

After briefly stopping the transfer of prisoners in November 2007, Ottawa resumed prisoner transfers this February, saying it was satisfied conditions in Afghan prisons had improved sufficiently.

The government has not said how many prisoners it has transferred to Afghan authorities.