OTTAWA - Forty-eight hours after conceding Canadian diplomats had received four direct complaints of torture involving suspected Taliban fighters, the Conservatives belatedly set-the-record straight late Friday, admitting there now are six abuse allegations.
The relevation led to renewed opposition charges of a coverup over the political handling of the prisoner scandal.
Four of the abuse claims have surfaced in the wake of Canada signing a revised prisoner transfer agreement with Afghanistan.
Earlier this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay and Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day told a special joint meeting of the Commons defence and foreign affairs committees that four allegations of abuse -- involving Taliban captured by Canadians but handed over to Afghan authorities -- had been reported.
A spokesman for MacKay corrected that on Friday and said that Foreign Affairs staff have been keeping track of reports within their own department only since Canada had signed a new detainee monitoring agreement on May 3.
"The government of Afghanistan has committed to investigate the claims and they'll be working closely with the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. This is their role and their responsibility," said Andre LeMay.
Liberal foreign affairs critic Ujjal Dosanjh reacted with outrage, saying it's clear the department wasn't paying attention before the controversy erupted.
"There is obviously a lot of confusion on the detainees issue, with each of these three ministers -- Defence, Foreign Affairs and Public Safety -- saying different and contradictory things at different times," said Dosanjh.
"It appears no-one is in complete control of the situation."
Three of the fresh reports come from prisoners interviewed in the country's notorious intelligence service jail in Kabul -- the fourth account was obtained in Kandahar. The precise details of the allegations were not made clear, although earlier this week MacKay described the initial reports as serious.
"All I can tell you is that these claims came to light in private interviews with Canadian officials," said LeMay. "These officials had clear and unrestricted access."
NDP defence critic Dawn Black said she finds it hard to believe any assurances from the government.
"Since I started asking questions about the treatment of detainees more than a year ago, we have heard nothing but contradictions, fabrications and cover-up from this government -- and now we find they've misled two Parliamentary Committees? This is unacceptable."
Where the alleged abuse took place is also unclear. Canadians do not patrol the Afghan capital and all of their prisoners are taken in the southern provinces of Kandahar or Helmand. It is routine practice, however, once Afghan authorities take custody of a prisoner for that individual to be transferred to Kabul for interrogation by intelligence officers.
The latest revelation could boost a legal challenge by Amnesty International and the B.C. Civil Liberities Association, which have applied to the Federal Court for an injunction to halt the transfers. They argue that Canada could find itself complicit in torture if it knowingly hands prisoners over to authorities who will abuse them.
In April, Day revealed that two Corrections Canada officers working in Kandahar had heard complaints from a pair of prisoners in the notorious jails of the Afghan intelligence service that they had been tortured. Those reports are still being investigated by Afghan authorities, but LeMay cast doubt Friday as to whether Canada had an interest in these earlier claims beyond usual human rights concerns.
"It is not clear whether these particular detainees had been transferred by Canada or other NATO forces," he said.
Media reports have said as many as 33 prisoners captured by Canadians and handed over to the Afghans may have been beaten.
The allegation in late April set off bitter opposition attacks, which set the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper back on its heels. After two weeks of contradictory explanations, the Conservatives signed a revised transfer agreement with Afghanistan -- one that allowed Canadian officials direct, private access where the condition of detainees could be checked.
The initial agreement, inked by the former government of prime minister Paul Martin in the early weeks of the 2005-06 election, did not provide such access.
