My understanding is that this is a genuine copy of a Department of National Defence document, although the details of its origin are not clear to me as yet.
The document is of interest for several reasons:
1. It shows precisely the type of information I was seeking in my Access to Information Act request for Operation Medusa in September, 2006, that was the subject of my application for judicial review (Federal Court file T-680-08).
2. It shows that the Department of National Defence kept careful records of all prisoners taken in Afghanistan (and elsewhere) between January 2002, and April, 2006.
3. There are two apparent types of redaction: the identities of the "Accepting Power" (black), and the identities of "Detainees" (white).
4. The notification of the Central Tracing Agency of the International Committee of the Red Cross was carried out in all cases.
5. I was given to understand at the hearing, by counsel for the Respondents, that this type of transfer record does not exist for such prisoners after April 29, 2006, which covers a period of three years of continued operations in Afghanistan. In fact, the log is entirely redacted for dates after April 29.
