Afghan authorities used corporal punishment on 'a whim,' report says

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Source: Toronto Star

Afghan authorities used corporal punishment on 'a whim,' report says

Report on 2006 incident shows Canadian troops knew of local police behaviour

Published On Fri May 7 2010

Allan Woods

Ottawa Bureau OTTAWA – As early as the spring of 2006, Canadian forces on the ground in Afghanistan knew local authorities routinely abused captives and doled out corporal punishment “on a whim,’’ a military board of inquiry has found.

A report released Friday into the June, 2006, beating of a detainee transferred to local police by Canadians said soldiers had ongoing concerns about the behaviour of an Afghan police unit one soldier referred to as “those wing nuts.’’

The five-week investigation was ordered by Gen. Walt Natynczyk, the chief of defence staff, who mistakenly told a House of Commons committee that the detainee in question had never been held by the Canadians, only questioned – but reversed himself when he became aware of the facts.

He then ordered an investigation to determine why the information did not get to him or his predecessor, Rick Hillier.

Opposition critics were quick to pounce Friday, saying the report showed the Conservative government had credible proof of torture and knew the danger of transferring detainees as far back as 2006. The government maintains it had no such evidence before November, 2007.

Read more: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/afghanmission/article/806546--afghan-authorities-used-corporal-punishment-on-a-whim-report-says?bn=1