The first two days of a probe into the handover of war prisoners in Afghanistan will be held behind closed doors.

The Military Police Complaints Commission has barred journalists, government officials and the general public from sitting in on its proceedings in Ottawa until Thursday.

The civilian-run military watchdog started its probe Tuesday, but procedural wrangling stalled the panel from hearing its first witness.

The hearings were scheduled to resume in the afternoon, but a spokeswoman told reporters during a lunch break they would not be allowed back until Thursday morning.

"They will be behind closed doors for the remainder of today and tomorrow," Nancy-Ann Walker said in an email.

"The witnesses for today and tomorrow will not testify publicly."

The commission is investigating an allegation from Amnesty International Canada and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.

The groups say Canadian military police did not properly investigate officers responsible for directing the transfer of detainees to Afghan authorities, allegedly at the risk of torture.

Transferring prisoners between countries knowing they likely face torture is considered a war crime.

Diplomat Richard Colvin told a special House of Commons committee last November that the majority of prisoners Canada handed over to the Afghan intelligence service were tortured.

Just allegations

But the Conservative government and military commanders, past and present, deny the allegation.

"It has to be emphasized that the allegations made in the complaint are just that: allegations," commission counsel Ron Lunau said Tuesday.

"People should not be tempted to leap to conclusions based on allegations and incomplete evidence."

The commission will listen to 25 people from the Canadian Forces and the Defence and Foreign Affairs departments over the coming weeks.

Scheduled to appear first was Sgt. Carol Utton, a military police officer who previously told commission investigators how an Afghan prisoner was mistreated.

The prisoner was locked for days in a small cell that reached an intolerable 60 C, according to transcripts of Utton's testimony.

She said superiors ignored warnings about cell conditions and refused to release the prisoner.

"He would scream and yell and climb the cage," Utton told investigators last year.