Canadian Military Has Quit Turning Detainees Over To Afghans

The Canadian military secretly stopped transferring prisoners to Afghanistan's government in November after Canadian monitors found evidence that they were being abused and tortured.

The suspension, which began Nov. 5, was disclosed in a fax sent by government lawyers to Amnesty International and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, which are seeking to block the prisoner transfers.

The government's internal concerns about detainees is also at odds with Canadian officials' repeated public statements that the Afghan government does not engage in systematic torture.

"The denials and political posturing and name-calling that have gone on over this at various points is very disheartening when all along there's been this information," said Alex Neve, the head of Amnesty International's Canadian branch.

Despite the suspension, Mr. Neve and Jason Gretl, president of the British Columbia association, said their lawyers would appear at the Federal Court of Canada in Ottawa on Thursday to seek an injunction blocking more transfers.

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