OTTAWA–His name is shielded from the public, but proof of his abuse at the hands of his Afghan jailers was literally right before the eyes of Canadian officials.
According to newly released documents from a court case brought by human rights groups, a Canadian human rights officer discovered last Nov. 5 an electrical cable and rubber hose alleged to have been used by Afghan jailors in the torture of a prisoner turned over by Canadian forces. The officer, in an interrogation room at the secret police facility in Kandahar, examined a 10-centimetre bruise on the man's back.
"He ... pointed to a chair and stated that the implements he had been struck with were underneath it," reads the court document in the case brought by rights groups seeking to halt the transfer of Canadian detainees to Afghan prisons. "Under the chair we found a large piece of braided electrical wire as well as a rubber hose. He then showed us a bruise on his back that could possibly be the result of a blow."
It is the most shocking example of mistreatment outlined by Canadian prison and foreign affairs officials who investigated abuse allegations in Afghanistan and contained in the documents, which are reports of site visits by Canadian officials to Afghan jails.
Among the other revelations from the documents:
It has been difficult to track prisoners that Canadian soldiers send to local jails because soldiers record the personal information in English while Afghan officials keep records in Pashto.
Very few of those interviewed by the Canadians report being granted access to a lawyer. Most are unaware of the charges against them.
cont...
http://www.thestar.com/article/296208
