Documents reveal evidence of Afghan prisoner abuse

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. More than a dozen individuals at one prison facility were kept in permanent leg shackles, a practice that falls well below international standards. "The documents speak for themselves," said Jason Gratl, head of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association. "[Canadian Prime Minister] Stephen Harper's assertion that reports of torture were not credible... has been proven false." In November, the federal government released thousands of pages of files showing Canadian officials had been aware of the deplorable state of Afghanistan's prisons for some time and showing that they were investigating seven allegations that Canadian detainees were tortured in Afghan custody. Of the seven investigations, only one has been deemed "credible" by the federal government to date. Since the Canadian and Afghan governments signed a supplementary agreement last May to place stricter rules around the transfer of alleged combatants detained by Canadian soldiers and handed over to Afghan prisons, the documents show "multiple and credible accounts" of mistreatment ranging from burned fingers and toes to electrical shocks and beatings about the legs and feet. "We've moved beyond the risk of torture for Canadian detainees," Gratl said. "Torture is occurring." The Tories have been struggling for months under difficult conditions to get a handle on the state of people who Canadian Forces capture on the battlefield and pass on to Afghan authorities. But the Nov. 5 incident–the first that Ottawa allowed was "credible" proof of mistreatment–was hailed as evidence the new transfer agreement gives Canada the power to catch abuse and punish those responsible. Afghan President Hamid Karzai admitted that abuse occurs in the country's jails, launched an inquiry into the allegations and warned senior police and prison officials against the practice. Paul Champ, a lawyer for the B.C. human rights group and Amnesty International, noted that all the alleged incidents of abuse are said to have occurred at the Afghan secret police facility in Kandahar, yet Canadian soldiers continue to send detainees there.