U.S. in Canadian manual as possible torture site

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/01/18/canada.torture.list.ap/index.html

TORONTO, Ontario (AP) -- A training manual for Canadian diplomats lists the United States as a country where prisoners risk torture and abuse, citing interrogation techniques such as stripping prisoners, blindfolding and sleep deprivation.



The U.S. facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, gets singled out in a training manual for Canadian diplomats.

The Foreign Affairs Department document, released Friday, singled out the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It also names Israel, Afghanistan, China, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Syria as places where inmates could face torture.

A Canadian citizen, Omar Khadr, is in custody at Guantanamo, but Canada has long publicly said it accepts U.S. assurances that Khadr is being treated humanely.

The government inadvertently released the manual to attorneys for Amnesty International who are working on a lawsuit involving alleged abuse of Afghan detainees by local Afghan authorities after Canadian troops handed over the detainees.

"The document in question is a training manual. It is not a policy document or any kind of a statement of policy. As such it does not convey the government's views or positions," said Neil Hrab, a spokesman for Canada's Foreign Affairs Department.

"The training manual purposely raised public issues to stimulate discussion and debate in the classroom."

The listing drew a sharp response from the U.S., a key NATO ally and trading partner, which asked to removed from the manual.

"We find it to be offensive for us to be on the same list with countries like Iran and China. Quite frankly it's absurd," U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins to Canada said. "For us to be on a list like that is just ridiculous."

He said the U.S. does not authorize or condone torture. "We think it should be removed and we've made that request. We have voiced our opinion very forcefully."

Michael Mendel, the Israeli Embassy spokesman, said Israel's Supreme Court "is on record as expressly prohibiting any type of torture. If Israel is included in the list in question, the ambassador of Israel would expect its removal," he said.

Human rights groups have long called on Canada to pressure the United States to return Khadr from Guantanamo. They say not enough has been done for Khadr, who has been in custody since he was 15. Khadr is accused of tossing a grenade that killed one U.S. soldier and injured another in Afghanistan in 2002.

He is the son of an alleged al Qaeda financier, and his family has received little sympathy in Canada, where they've been called the "First Family of Terrorism."

Dennis Edney, one of Khadr's attorneys, said the foreign affairs document shows that Canada says one thing publicly but believes something else privately.

"Canada was well aware that Omar Khadr's allegations of being tortured had a ring of truth to it. Canada has not once raised the protection of Omar Khadr when there are such serious allegations," Edney said. "What does that say to you about Canada's commitment to the rule of law and human rights? It talks on both sides of its face."
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