Military classifies hairstyles a matter of national security
| Tim Naumetz |
| The Ottawa Citizen |
Monday, June 09, 2008
The University of Ottawa law professor who battled the Defence Department over access to information about Afghan war prisoners last year is in another fight over a "test" request he filed -- seeking photos of the prisoners with only their "hairdos" showing.
The military turned the request down on national security and privacy grounds.
Associate professor Amir Attaran also sought an inventory of the "personal grooming items" of the prisoners.
That request also was rejected for reasons of national security and privacy.
An earlier probe by Mr. Attaran into the detention and transfer of Afghans by Canadian troops led to allegations of torture and a Federal Court case over human rights.
Six months after he complained to Information Commissioner Robert Marleau about the Defence Department's refusal to hand over the "hairdo" photos, Mr. Attaran says he is still awaiting the results of Mr. Marleau's investigation.
Mr. Attaran, who is also a lawyer, says he filed requests under the Access to Information Act for the photos and the list of grooming items -- including "hair scrunchies" and cosmetics -- to test how far the military would go in keeping information secret.
The Defence Department earlier had refused to disclose even the number of detainees Canadian troops were handing over to Afghan forces, or photographs that could identify them.
The government revealed last January at the outset of the Federal Court hearing on the issue that the Canadian Forces had secretly stopped transferring detainees to Afghan forces in November after a Canadian monitor discovered evidence of subsequent torture and beatings.
Mr. Attaran, frustrated at Mr. Marleau's failure to report back on his investigation into suppression of the hairdo and grooming information, intends to confront the information commissioner during a private workshop on access law Mr. Marleau is sponsoring at the posh Rideau Club upcoming week.
"They invited me, and I'm going," Mr. Attaran said.
Despite the offbeat nature of his subsequent requests, Mr. Attaran argued that the Defence Department's overall refusal to disclose information identifying the detainees has serious implications.
"We have knowledge that several hundred people have been detained by the Canadian Forces and transferred to Afghans who torture," he said.
"This is not a fact in dispute. It would be very valuable to their protection to get their photographs out there."
The Canadian Forces have resumed transferring detainees to Afghan security forces after reaching a new agreement over prisoner treatment and monitoring, but the fate of prisoners transferred earlier is still unclear. The military confirmed in the court case that Canadian troops transfer not only combatant prisoners, but also Afghans suspected of supporting the Taliban.
Former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier ignited an international controversy after suggesting the Afghan governor of the province where the Canadians are stationed was suspected of condoning torture.
A spokesman for Mr. Marleau said his office could not comment or even confirm that Mr. Attaran had filed a complaint.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=4c5cc1df-1880-48cd-b41a-e39b72ad3a91
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