The inquiry into Australian Special Forces misconduct in Afghanistan has found evidence of war crimes involving 25 current or former Australian Def
CANBERRA, ACT, Australia – The inquiry into Australian Special Forces’ misconduct in Afghanistan has found evidence of war crimes involving 25 current or former Australian Defence Force personnel. The inquiry found “credible information” of 23 incidents in which one or more non-combatants or prisoners of war “were unlawfully killed by or at the direction of members of the Special Operations Task Group, in circumstances which, if accepted by a jury, would be the war crime of murder.” In a further two incidents, a non-combatant or prisoner was mistreated in a way that would be “the war crime of cruel treatment.” Some incidents involved one victim, and in some there were multiple victims. The inquiry found a total of 39 individuals were killed, and a further two cruelly treated. The 25 current or former ADF personnel were perpetrators “either as principals or accessories” some of them on a single occasion and a few on multiple occasions. None of the alleged crimes involved decisions made “under pressure, in the heat of battle.” The inquiry, in a report released on Thursday, has recommended the Chief of the Defence Force refer 36 matters to the Australian Federal Police for criminal investigation, relating to 23 incidents, and involving 19 individuals.
