OTTAWA - Relatively cushy conditions at Kandahar Airfield made Afghanistan war prisoners loath to leave Canadian custody, a civilian-run military watchdog heard Thursday.
A military police officer told a probe into the handover of war prisoners in Afghanistan that most detainees taken in the field felt they were treated well by their Canadian captors.
Retired Capt. Mark Naipaul told the Military Police Complaints Commission most captives didn't want to be turned over to Afghan authorities.
The detainees ate well at the detention facility and even those who were let go, put in a taxi and sent home didn't want to leave the base, he said.
"They would often joke about leaving the facility, that they had good food, that they could see that they were getting bigger," Naipaul said.
"Ones that had been there for the four days ... enjoyed the food quite a bit."
Naipaul said the prisoners didn't know what was in store for them once they left Canadian custody with Afghan authorities, particularly the National Directorate of Security.
But he stopped short of saying prisoners feared being handed over to the Afghans.
"I'm not sure 'fear' would be the correct word," he said.
"I mean, there was some concern about being transferred to Afghan officials. Whether that was specifically because that was the NDS, I can only speculate."
Naipaul told the commission that, while he was aware of allegations that detainees were tortured in Afghan custody, he did not see any abuse firsthand.
"My general sense, with the people that I served with, was yeah, those allegations, they occurred, and we're doing the best we can to not have them happen in our custody," he said.
"That was the concern, that we didn't want to be involved with mistreating detainees."
Naipaul's testimony contradicts that of another military police officer, Sgt. Carol Utton, who told the commission some prisoners "seemed quite delighted" to be handed over to Afghan authorities "because they could be bought out of the Afghan jails."
The commission is investigating an allegation from Amnesty International Canada and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.
The groups say Canadian military police did not properly investigate officers responsible for directing the transfer of detainees to Afghan authorities, allegedly at the risk of torture.
Transferring prisoners between countries knowing they likely face torture is considered a war crime.
