Three years ago this month it was Graeme Smith’s reporting on the treatment of Afghan detainees that pushed this issue to the forefront, the government soon thereafter compelled to sign a new transfer agreement. Today, Smith tells us about the notorious operation of Asadullah Khalid, what Canadians knew (or should have known) and how Canada both defended the governor and may have helped fund his work.
Three years ago this month it was Graeme Smith’s reporting on the treatment of Afghan detainees that pushed this issue to the forefront, the government soon thereafter compelled to sign a new transfer agreement. Today, Smith tells us about the notorious operation of Asadullah Khalid, what Canadians knew (or should have known) and how Canada both defended the governor and may have helped fund his work.
A Canadian officer shrugged off a question about whether, in retrospect, Canadians should have monitored the interrogations to make sure prisoners weren’t tortured. “From the Afghan point of view, that would be like your mom sitting down with you on the couch while you’re trying to make out with your girlfriend,” the officer said. “It would have been awkward.”
Separately, Smith talks to a detainee held and tortured at Sarpoza prison.