This morning, former DFAIT official Nicholas Gosselin testified before the MPCC. Mr. Gosselin was the DFAIT human rights officer in Afghanistan who discovered implements of torture in an Afghan prison in late 2007. His discovery, combined with other reports of … Read More
Features Blog
Curiouser and curiouser
Posted onOr perhaps in the case of Sansterre, not curious at all. The Globe and Mail has a blisteringly spot-on editorial in today’s edition. We recommend that you read the whole thing, but here’s a teaser: Lieutenant-Colonel Gilles Sansterre is the … Read More
Richard Colvin at the MPCC: Part 1
Posted onBig media day at the MPCC this morning, as senior diplomat Richard Colvin appears before the Committee. Colvin’s testimony before Parliament on his longstanding concerns about the treatment of CF-transferred detainees helped make the Afghan detainee issue a subject of … Read More
Richard Colvin at the MPCC: Part 2
Posted onRichard Colvin in 2009. Image: CBC The afternoon examinations of Mr. Colvin went into overtime today, extending another 40 minutes or so beyond the scheduled close of session. Of particular interest were the issues relating to the redactions of Mr. … Read More
Torture? What torture?
Posted onWeek 2 of the MPCC Afghan Public Interest Hearings started off with testimony this morning from Lieutenant-Colonel Gilles Sansterre, commanding officer of the Canadian Forces National Investigative Service — the arm of the military police tasked with, among other things, … Read More
“Would you call that an adequate investigation?”
Posted onThis afternoon at the MPCC Afghanistan Public Interest Hearings, BCCLA Litigation Director Grace Pastine had the opportunity to cross-examine Lieutenant-Colonel Gilles Sansterre, the head investigator at the Canadian Forces National Investigative Service. The CFNIS is responsible for investigating serious offences … Read More
Troops knew of torture in Afghan prisons
Posted onToday’s hearings at the MPCC were open to the public again, with retired MP officer Captain Mark Naipul testifying in the morning session. Naipul had guarded detainees in Kandahar during his time in Afghanistan, and testified that Canadian soldiers were … Read More
MPCC Resumes Afghanistan Public Interest Hearings Without the Public
Posted onGlobe and Mail / Interim MPCC Chair Stannard Yesterday kicked off the resumption of testimony in the Afghan Public Interest Hearings before the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC), which is investigating allegations made in complaints filed by the BCCLA and … Read More
The detainee buck stops where?
Posted onThe Afghanistan detainee transfer agreement of May 2007 has been cited by the government as providing for adequate monitoring and inspections of prisoners transferred by Canadian Forces to Afghan authorities. In testimony before the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission … Read More
Military commanders told of legal obligations to investigate claims of abuse
Posted onThe Toronto Star is reporting today that it has obtained a copy of a “top secret document” outlining the military’s obligation to investigate claims of transfer to torture in Afghanistan. The document at issue is a five-page memo dated May … Read More
