The BCCLA has obtained and is publicly releasing documents containing graphic and appalling reports of torture received first-hand by Canadian officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
These reports leave no doubt that the Canadian government is aware that Canadian-transferred detainees are being tortured by Afghan authorities.
“The reports contradict our government’s disavowal of knowledge of torture by Afghan prison authorities. Denial is no longer plausible”, said Jason Gratl, volunteer president of the BCCLA.
“There remains no excuse for complicity in torture”.
The reports will be posted online today at 6:00 p.m. (Pacific) on the BCCLA website.
The reports were disclosed by the government pursuant to a disclosure order granted by the Federal Court as part of the ongoing lawsuit brought by BCCLA and Amnesty International Canada to stop the transfer of detainees by the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan.
The BCCLA and Amnesty International maintain that the Canadian Forces are prohibited by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms from transferring detainees to an environment where they are exposed to a substantial risk of torture.
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