Empty chairs, courtesy CBC Conservative MPs boycotted the Tuesday emergency meeting of the parliamentary committee looking into allegations that Canadian Forces transferred Afghan detainees to torture. The seven Conservative MPs on the Committee left their chairs empty while Opposition MPs … Read More
National Security Blog
Colvin’s rebuttal
Posted onThis morning, Richard Colvin delivered a 16-page letter to the Special Committee on Afghanistan, setting out additional evidence and rebutting his government critics. The letter is worth reading in its entirety, but here are some of the highlights. First, Colvin … Read More
What’s behind the black boxes?
Posted onAaron Wherry over at MacLean’s was sharp enough to spot the difference between the version of a report cited by General Walter Natynczyk in his press conference on Wednesday morning and the version provided to the BCCLA and Amnesty back … Read More
Canadian Forces’ U-Turn: Detainee was abused
Posted onIt’s interesting that General Walter Natynczyk wasn’t briefed on the case that the BCCLA and Amnesty International launched against the Canadian Forces in 2007. If he had been, he wouldn’t have been compelled to call a news conference today to … Read More
Torture hearings liveblog: Peter MacKay
Posted onToday is the last session of the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan before Parliament closes shop for the year. It promises to be an explosive day of testimony, as key government figures will be appearing, including the … Read More
Proof of detainee abuse
Posted onToday, the Globe and Mail’s Paul Koring reported on evidence contradicting Defence Minister Peter MacKay’s repeated assertions that there has never been proof that Canadian-transferred detainees were abused by Afghan security forces. This evidence was uncovered during the federal court … Read More
Richard Colvin Documents
Posted onWelcome to the BCCLA’s National Security blog. Right now, we’re tracking the Afghan detainee hearings in Parliament and will be providing commentary and updates as testimony progresses. Today, documents that support Mr. Richard Colvin’s testimony are being made publicly available … Read More
Reactions to December 2, 2009 Afghan Detainee Hearings
Posted onYesterday, government witnesses continued to toe the party line, asserting that there was no credible evidence of torture prior to the May 2007 transfer arrangement. In light of the reports which were being issued by authoritative and credible human rights … Read More
