Canadian diplomat's statement ordered sealed
Admin - Oct 07, 09
http://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/diplomats-statement-ordered-sealed-2775
October 7, 2009 (Canadian Press) - A written statement filed by a former Canadian diplomat, with information about the possible torture of Afghan prisoners, has been ordered sealed on the grounds
of national security.Lawyers for the Military Police Complaints Commission haven't been allowed to read the document filed by Richard Colvin, who worked at Canada's provincial reconstruction base in Kandahar in 2006. He was there when Canadian troops first began handing over captured Taliban fighters to Afghan authorities and signalled to the commission that he had information on what military police knew about alleged torture in Afghan prisons.
But federal lawyers have tried to have him removed from a witness list and today invoked Section 38 of the Canada Evidence Act, which prohibits the release of national security information and punishes those who don't comply with five years in prison, on an affidavit he filed.
The commission, which resumed public hearings today, was also told that a second official — a former military police officer who is the subject of the complaint — is also being prohibited from testifying.
Retired navy captain Steve Moore, head of the military police for most of Canada's operations in Afghanistan, has signalled he has information relevant to the investigation, but federal lawyers want him stricken from a witness list. He also has documents, which government lawyers have ordered not to be disclosed the commission.
In both instances, the federal government insists that the documents must be reviewed and censored before the commission can see them — if it's allowed to see them at all.