This article was published in the May 3, 2007 edition of the Globe and Mail.

ALEX NEVE / Secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada
AND JASON GRATL / president of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association

We are in Federal Court today, seeking an order to temporarily halt Canada's transfer of detainees to Afghan officials because of the very real risk that they will be tortured in Afghan prisons. Torture violates one of the world's most crucial human rights protections, but responsibility doesn't end with the torturer. Transferring someone to face likely torture under another country's jurisdiction contravenes international law.

We did not turn to the courts lightly. Beginning in 2002, when concerns emerged about Canadian troops handing prisoners over to U.S. forces in Afghanistan, we began pressing for a different approach. We were concerned that some of those prisoners would be sent to Guantanamo Bay and others possibly abused in U.S. detention facilities in Afghanistan.

In 2005, the new policy of handing prisoners over to Afghan officials was adopted. But torture and other rights abuses have long been rampant in Afghan prisons - the new policy just replaced one problem with another. We continued to call for a better approach. We suggested Canada work with allies to develop a NATO detention facility, run in co-operation with Afghan officials, to train staff and improve prisons in the country. Our concerns and recommendations were dismissed. There was no choice: We had to go to court.

We launched our court application in February, but we will likely not have a hearing for months. Meanwhile, transfers continue and many people will almost certainly be tortured. And when revelations and allegations of brutal torture of many transferred prisoners came forward last week in The Globe and Mail, we knew we could not wait.

That is why we are asking the - court to temporarily halt the practice, until the case is fully heard and resolved.

Why are we doing this? The government dismisses our concerns with three arguments.

First, the concerns about torture are dismissed as groundless and unproven. This position defies belief, in the face of the recent descriptions of torture in this newspaper and the well-established reality of torture in reports from sources that include the United Nations and the U.S. State Department.

Second, we are assured that there are processes in place to monitor the treatment of prisoners - but monitoring is not the answer when the risk of torture is so widespread. Torture is an insidious, secretive practice that can devastate body and soul within a few short minutes. There is ample time for torture to be inflicted between what would at best be occasional, brief visits from monitors. The solution is to eradicate the torture.

It is impossible to have confidence in the current monitoring systems. It is clear that the processes have been exaggerated and misstated. At first, we were told the International Committee of the Red Cross would play that role, but the Red Cross itself said that was not the case. Then it was the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, whose staff has made it abundantly clear they lack the necessary capacity, are unable to travel to some of the prisons, face security concerns and are unable to meet privately with prisoners.

Third, we are told to save our breath because the prisoners are Taliban fighters, responsible for horrifying rights violations and not deserving of protection. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has alleged that those raising these concerns care more about the Taliban than about Canadian troops.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Canada is in Afghanistan to restore security, promote rule of law and bolster human rights. Our troops need to be supported at all times to achieve those goals. That support must include policies and practices that ensure they are able to operate in ways that do not indirectly cause human rights violations. Amnesty International has documented the Taliban's deadly record of rights violations for well over a decade and has always insisted that those responsible be brought to justice.

But justice is not delivered through beatings or electric shocks. If we turn a blind eye to torture anywhere, we have essentially said we are willing to tolerate it everywhere. Surely we want to help create an Afghanistan free of torture. The best way to get there is to take a firm stand against today's abuses. We do so by refusing to be complicit in its commission and by working to improve Afghanistan's police and prison systems.

That is why we are in court today. We are not being disloyal to the troops. We are certainly not apologists for the Taliban. We are insisting that in the end, Afghanistan's future will only be assured if universally protected rights standards truly flourish there. Canada's efforts should always, unequivocally, be directed to that goal.