Richard Colvin, a former senior diplomat with Canada's mission in Afghanistan, told a Commons committee in November 2009 that all detainees transferred by Canadians to Afghan prisons were likely tortured by Afghan officials and that many of the prisoners were innocent. (Canadian Press)

Canadian troops have been on ground in Afghanistan since shortly after the fall of the Taliban. During that time, the issue of how to handle Afghans captured in the conflict has bedevilled successive governments, both Liberal and Conservative.

The timeline below outlines the statements and events in the Afghan detainee story from 2002 to the testimony of former diplomat Richard Colvin before a House of Commons committee in November 2009.

And this timeline follows the story after the Colvin testimony:

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