La Presse
Monday 29 October 2007
Several prisoners pass from the hands of Canadians to the secret services, then directly to the Sarpoza prison. Without a judge, without a trial and without a lawyer.Canada does not torture the Taliban captured by its army. But it hands them over to Afghan authorities that are not so squeamish, according to what people say. Here is the first article in a large-scale investigation conducted on the ground by our special envoy who met several prisoners who were victims of torture.
Even though Ottawa concluded an agreement with the Afghan government in the spring, the prisoners captured by Canadian soldiers are still tortured on the premises of the secret services in Kandahar.
Beaten with bricks, deprived of sleep, nails torn out, given electric shocks. Some detainees must remain standing with their arms in the air for two days and two nights. Their feet become so swollen that their leg-irons cannot move. Others have their arms fastened behind their back and are hung from a wall, then beaten with electric cables.
I visited Kandahar's prison, Sarpoza. Three prisoners captured in recent months told me they had been tortured.
One of the prison's senior officials, who did not want to be identified, but who was present during the interviews, confirmed: "Yes," he said, "detainees are tortured by the secret services before they're brought to us here, to Sarpoza."
On April 23, The Globe and Mail wrote that the majority of prisoners captured by the Canadians were tortured by local authorities.
That revelation unleashed a huge controversy. The Harper government reacted and signed an agreement with the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai. Since then, Ottawa asserts, torture does not exist.
Untrue, said the three detainees, who did not want to be identified. "In August," one of them related, "soldiers came into my house in the evening and they arrested me along with six other people. They accused us of being Taliban."
The soldiers took them to the headquarters of the American Special Forces in Kandahar before transferring them to the NATO military base where Canadian troops are stationed.
"We spent 12 days in the military base prison," the detainee detailed. "The soldiers interrogated us one time only and we were well-treated."
But things went downhill when the prisoners were transferred to the secret services, the NDS (National Directorate for Security).
"The Canadians told us not to be afraid," the prisoner continued. "They gave us a document that asserted there is no torture in Afghanistan. The secret services people tore it up and threw the pieces in my face. They tortured me for twenty days. I protested; I said that the Canadians had promised me that nothing would happen to me. They told me: 'We're not in Canada here, we're at our place. The Canadians are dogs!' The secret services don't listen to anyone, not to Karzai, and not to Canada."
Another prisoner, who had also been tortured, exclaimed: "It's you Canadians who are responsible for torture because you hand us over to the secret services who act like savages!"
According to the Afghan Human Rights Commission, torture still exists, but the situation has improved since Canada intervened in the spring.
"About a third of the prisoners are still tortured and NATO knows it," asserted spokesman Shamuldin Tanwir. "The Canadians give us a sealed envelope with the names of the captured prisoners. The problem is that that list never corresponds to the secret services' list."
An Insalubrious Prison
Several prisoners go from Canadian hands to the secret services, then directly to Sarpoza prison. Without a judge, without a trial, without a lawyer.
"The legal system is virtually nonexistent," emphasized UN (UNAMA) spokesperson Rupert White. "There's only one public prosecutor for the province of Kandahar. To lodge an appeal is practically impossible. The judges have to come from Kabul, but they refuse. No one wants to be part of a political trial. They fear Taliban reprisals. So the waiting periods are extremely long."
And there's a shortage of everything. "There are neither lawyers, nor legal expertise," Mr. White added. "There aren't even copies of the laws."
The Sarpoza prison is insalubrious and overcrowded. It shelters 1,200 men and a handful of women. Each cell holds 18 detainees. They sleep on mats thrown on the cement floors. Only the head prisoner has a bed. There's neither hot water nor heat. In winter, the cells are glacial. The thermometer falls to minus 10 degrees.
The minimalist toilets are a hole behind an old curtain. Mice and snakes get into the cells through the stone walls. The detainees plug the holes with plastic bags. Everything is lacking: blankets, sheets, medicine and gloves to clean the toilets. Electricity breakdowns are frequent, naked light bulbs hang from the ceilings and old wires run along the walls.
"I have often asked the Canadians to help us, but they do nothing," complained one of the senior prison officials. "We've been begging them for two years now to put panes in the windows to protect us from the cold. Winter is coming and Canada still hasn't done anything."
The Canadians refused to respond to the allegations of torture. I asked for an interview with the person in charge of correctional services posted to Kandahar. The public relations person told me to call Ottawa. Which I did. The response: no comment.
I also contacted Canada's ambassador to Kabul, the only civilian who has the right to speak to journalists. I'm still waiting for his call.
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