Intelligence officer and ex-diplomat Richard Colvin testifies Thursday at a commons special committee on Afghanistan, which is hearing witnesses on the transfer of Afghan detainees. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

All detainees transferred by Canadians to Afghan prisons were likely tortured by Afghan officials, and many of the prisoners were innocent, says a former senior diplomat with Canada's mission in Afghanistan.

Appearing before a House of Commons committee Wednesday, Richard Colvin blasted Canada's detainee policies and compared them with the policies of Britain and the Netherlands.

Colvin said Canada was taking six times as many detainees as British troops and 20 times as many as the Dutch.

The detainees were captured by Canadian soldiers then handed over to the Afghan intelligence service, called the NDS.

He said unlike the British and Dutch, Canada did not monitor their conditions; took days, weeks or months to notify the Red Cross; kept poor records; and to prevent scrutiny, Canadian Forces leadership concealed this behind "walls of secrecy."

Colvin said the most common forms of torture were beatings, whipping with power cables, the use of electricity, knives, open flames and rape.

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