Disturbing testimony continued to emerge from the Afghan Public Interest Hearings at the Military Police Complaints Commission, as John Davison, a Department of Foreign Affairs official who was stationed in Afghanistan, took the stand on Thursday, September 16. Mr. Davison … Read More
Features Blog
Some news from down south
Posted onIn related news, earlier this week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the United States sided with the Obama administration’s arguments for a wide-sweeping application of the so-called state secrets doctrine and dismissed a claim for damages brought by … Read More
Today at the MPCC: Torture is a “real conversation killer”
Posted onAfter a long summer hiatus, the Afghan Public Interest Hearings at the Military Police Complaints Commission resumed today, with Major General Mike Ward of the Canadian Forces taking the stand to discuss the transfer of detainees to Afghan security forces … Read More
Ongoing torture of Afghan prisoners?
Posted onIn today’s online edition of the Toronto Star, Murray Brewster of The Canadian Press is reporting that an Afghan intelligence officer with the National Directorate of Security (NDS) boasted to Canadian ground commanders as recently as May 2009 that he … Read More
MPCC back in action
Posted onThe Afghan Public Interest Hearings at the Military Police Complaints Commission will be back in session starting next Thursday, so tune in for our commentary on the testimony and local colour from our lawyers in attendance. Up next week on … Read More
Complicity in torture actionable?
Posted onA terrific decision has come out of Ottawa in Abousfian Abdelrazik’s case against Lawrence Cannon and the Canadian government for damages resulting from Canada’s complicity in his reported torture by Sudanese authorities and Canada’s sustained refusal in permitting him to … Read More
What he said
Posted onAlex Neve of Amnesty International, back from the Khadr trial at Guantanamo Bay, has an excellent piece in today’s Ottawa Citizen, discussing his observations and making yet another plea for the federal government to fulfill its constitutional obligations with respect … Read More
Khadr trial delayed (again)
Posted onThe Khadr trial (which started hearing evidence yesterday) has been adjourned for 30 days following the collapse of Mr. Khadr’s military lawyer during the middle of his cross-examination. Yesterday, the military “jury” heard opening statements and testimony from two prosecution … Read More
Khadr trial begins
Posted onThe BCCLA National Security Blog’s returned from her summer holidays in time for the start of the Omar Khadr trial, scheduled to start today after the close of jury selection, which started yesterday. A jury comprised of members of the … Read More
Arar v. SCOTUS
Posted onSome excellent commentary coming from south of the 49th following the Supreme Court of the United State’s refusal to hear Maher Arar’s appeal of the dismissal of his civil suit against U.S. official complicit in his torture at the hands … Read More