OTTAWA — Canada's former top soldier said claims that most Afghan detainees were tortured are "ludicrous."
Delivering a staunch defence of the military's handling of suspect prisoners, retired Gen. Rick Hillier told a parliamentary committee all locals captured by Canadian troops were well-treated, even though some had killed their comrades and still had residue from explosives and gunshots on their hands and bodies.
"Despite the emotions of grabbing someone who had just shot their friend, or just blown up a vehicle in which the rest of their buddies were," said the former chief of defence staff. "We took actions to meet all of our responsibilities, including those concerning detainees. We handled them professionally, and our soldiers did a magnificent job of that."
Hillier said military and civilian brass exercised due diligence and followed strict policies on the detainee transfer process. Canada suspended transfers temporarily on Nov. 5, 2007 until commanders were comfortable proper safeguards were in place. He said officials acted on substantiated allegations — not hearsay or uncorroborated information from Taliban detainees.
After re-reading many reports from the period in question, Hillier said there was nothing to warrant the intervention of the chief of defence staff. At no time did any diplomat or official pull him aside to report any concerns about the treatment of prisoners during his visits to theatre.
Lt. Gen. Michel Gauthier suggested allegations levelled against military brass constitute would a “serious illegal act.”
"Believe me, we in the chain of military command have understood our legal liability in these matters with a very personal sense of clarity from the outset," he said.
Gauthier said he first heard about potential abuse of detainees in April 2007 when a military media officer gave him a heads up on an upcoming newspaper story. The first official reports came in June 2007 — more than a year after Richard Colvin said he alerted officials.
Colvin, a diplomat formerly posted in Afghanistan, testified last week he red-flagged incidents of torture beginning in 2006, but his reports were ignored, censored or stifled.
Gauthier flatly rejected those claims.
"There was nothing in the reports that caused me or my staff to see a serious, imminent or alarming new warnings of torture before the June 2007 reports," he said. "To suggest that senior military officials or commanders ignored these or covered them up is wrong."
Gauthier urged MPs not to leap to any conclusions, noting that hundreds to professional military and civilian employees have carefully read and reread the reports.
"With the greatest of respect, I ask each of you to keep that in mind as you draw your conclusions from what you hear and express those to our public," he said. "As you well know, our country's reputation is at stake."
kathleen.harris@sunmedia.ca
