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Canada Names U.S. As A Torture Risk

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The Associated Press

Published: January 19, 2008

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

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

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

He said the United States does not authorize or condone torture. "We have voiced our opinion very forcefully," Wilkins said.

Israeli Embassy spokesman Michael Mendel 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."

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

The government inadvertently released the manual to lawyers for Amnesty International. Canada said the manual is for training and is not official government policy.

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