Concerns and complaints

The Globe details the frustrations of two military commanders who found the detainee reporting process to be lacking.

In May, 2007, after allegations that prisoners were being abused, Ottawa toughened its detainee transfer agreement to provide for monitoring visits that allowed Canadians to ensure Afghans weren’t torturing captives. The federal government has held this up as a “robust monitoring system” that ensured it could quickly react to abuse.

But six months later, the Canadian Forces clearly felt monitoring and reports weren’t reaching them. Brig.-Gen. Laroche in his letter lamented “the fact that meaningful investigation reports into previous abuse allegations have yet to be received.” He said this meant there could be a “larger systemic problem” concerning detainees. “This puts this headquarters and indeed the Canadian Forces, in a difficult position.”

Meanwhile, the CBC’s experiment in citizen journalism produces several more redaction curiosities.