Media Room

Media Advisory

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Commission Begins the Public Interest Hearing into the Allegations Regarding Afghan Detainees

OTTAWA, May 20, 2009 –The Chair of the Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC), Peter A. Tinsley, will call to order the Public Interest Hearing (PIH) related to complaints about military police conduct in Afghanistan.

The PIH will focus on the allegations that Canadian military police transferred detainees to Afghan authorities, or allowed them to be transferred, notwithstanding evidence the detainees could face torture. It has been further alleged that the military police failed to investigate certain senior officers in the chain of command who had responsibility for directing the transfer of detainees to the Afghan authorities in the face of a known risk of torture.

The PIH session, scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, May 25^th, 2009, will consist of providing an overview of Canadian Forces and Military Police structure, particularly as it relates to the Afghanistan deployment. In addition, the Commission intends to call representatives of the complainants, Amnesty International and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association. The PIH are scheduled for two weeks.

The sessions will then re-commence in the fall 2009.

Details

This session is open to the media. Videographers and photographers will be permitted to move around the Hearing Room until the Commission Chair calls the session to order. Additional information will be provided regarding media coverage at the hearing.

Transcripts of the hearing will be subsequently made available and will be published on the MPCC website.

For more information, please contact Sylvain Roy, Chief of Staff at (613) 947-5704 or by email at Sylvain.roy@mpcc-cppm.gc.ca.

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