Richard Colvin is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

foreign service officer who gained public attention as a witness in the Canadian Afghan detainee issue. He appeared before the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan in late 2009, where he testified that Afghan detainees turned over to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

prisons by Canadian soldiers were tortured. His testimony led to intense scrutiny of the Harper government's detainee policies in Kandahar, including through further witnesses at the House of Commons Afghanistan committee. On January 1, 2010, Prime Minister Harper prorogued Parliament, preventing further testimony on the Afghan detainee issue. This then triggered anti-prorogation protests.

Early life

Colvin was born in 1969 in a village near

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, where he lived until the age of 16, when his family migrated to Canada, settling near Waterdown,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He studied

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

and Russian language at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, and in 1992 joined the Canadian foreign service after passing his second attempt at the foreign service exam. In 2002, he was posted to

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in the

Palestinian territories The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine ...

, where he served on a new political mission established in the wake of Yasser Arafat's death. He was posted back to

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

in 2005 where he served before being posted to Afghanistan.

As a witness in the Afghan detainee issue

On October 6, 2009, the lawyer for Colvin (called to testify at a hearing into allegations of Afghan prison torture) said that the Conservative government was trying to keep her client silent. In a letter sent to the Canadian

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and obtained by

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, lawyer Lori Bokenfohr said the government invoked the national security order in response to Colvin's decision to co-operate with the Military Police Complaints Commission.

Claims

During his testimony to a Parliamentary committee in November 2009, Colvin said Canada did not monitor detainee conditions in Afghanistan and that detainees transferred by Canadians to Afghan prisons were likely tortured. ''"According to our information, the likelihood is that all the Afghans we handed over were tortured"'', Colvin said. ''"For interrogators in Kandahar, it was a standard operating procedure"''. Colvin worked in Kandahar in 2006 before moving to Kabul. He said his reports were ignored and he was eventually told to stop putting the reports in writing.

Reception

Colvin’s testimony at the Parliamentary committee was controversial. A 2015 review by the

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) is an independent think tank in Canada. It has been described as "left leaning". The CCPA concentrates on economic policy, international trade, environmental justice and social policy. It is es ...

and

Rideau Institute The Rideau Institute is a non-profit independent research and advocacy group based in Ottawa. It focuses on foreign policy and defence policy issues. It was founded in January 2007. It is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Personnel Directors ...

supports Colvin's conclusions and notes the efforts made by elected officials and civil servants to suppress his criticism. Another study concludes that Colvin's evidence was supported by other observers and that his disclosures had been politicized by the government of the day in an effort to minimize public relations damage, including ordering his silence and attacking him personally in Parliament.Shepherd, R. (2017). Whistle-blowing and Ethical Practice. In I. Greene & D. P. Shugarman (Eds.), ''Honest Politics Now''. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company Ltd, pp. 219-227.He alleged a number of reprisals
as a result of his disclosures; the outcome of his complaints was not covered in the media, but he retained his position.

References

External links

Videos

''Canada's pro-democracy movement''
(includes footage of Colvin) Produced by Jesse Freeston, January 29, 2010; Publisher:

The Real News The Real News Network (TRNN) is a news organization based in Baltimore, Maryland, that covers both national and international news. It includes both for-profit arm and non-profit organizations. History TRNN was founded by documentary producer ...

(duration: 10:36) {{DEFAULTSORT:Colvin, Richard 1969 births Living people English emigrants to Canada University of Western Ontario alumni University of Toronto alumni