‘Get rid of the prisoners by shooting them’: Australian Commandos tell of war crimes
By Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters
Anguished Australian special forces soldiers have confessed to murdering and brutalising detainees in Afghanistan in incidents that colleagues insist cannot be written off as occurring in the "fog of war".
Members of both of Australia's special forces regiments - the Commandos and the Special Air Service Regiment - have given evidence to the army's war crimes inquiry about the summary execution of at least four prisoners, in breach of the Geneva conventions.
Australian soldiers search a house for weapons, explosives and Taliban fighters during a foot patrol in Chora, Afghanistan, in 2009.CREDIT:SIMON O'DWYER
Multiple defence sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, have confirmed that compelling evidence exists of Australian soldiers assaulting or murdering in cold blood unarmed or handcuffed detainees in Afghanistan between June and November 2012.
More than a dozen serving and former special forces members, including high-ranking officers, stress that it was soldiers themselves who had brought the conduct to light.
The war crimes inquiry was ordered in 2016 by the Chief of the Defence Force, Angus Campbell, and is being undertaken by Supreme Court of Appeal Justice Major General Paul Brereton. Military top brass are aware of the evidence, the sources say, the most powerful of which involves recorded confessions from anguished soldiers to colleagues or supporters. It is illegal under the laws of war to murder or brutalise a prisoner or a civilian who is posing no risk.
Summary executions
One summary execution being investigated by the Brereton inquiry was carried out by a member of the Commandos November platoon during an operation in southern Afghanistan on October 3, 2012. The commando has confessed that he shot a detained Afghan man in the back of the head, according to documents detailing his admissions. The confession suggests that other detainees were killed in the same manner and that other commandos had participated in a summary execution.
“Various members [of the platoon] ... also carried out orders to get rid of the prisoners by shooting them,” says one document outlining the confession, which has been filed with lawyers.
The soldier who unlawfully killed a detainee on October 3, 2012 also disclosed a more senior commando directed him to “take the prisoner ... and get rid of them” in a discreet location. The commando said “he was told it was OK because he was a bad guy”.
The commando has confessed that he subsequently “executed with his pistol” the prisoner, whom he describes as an “innocent man”.
Many of the most serious acts detailed in confessions or direct witness testimony — which The Age, The Herald and 60 Minutes have uncovered and confirmed using multiple sources — occurred in 2012, during the 18th deployment of special forces to Afghanistan. Defence sources said all incidents are under investigation by the Brereton inquiry.
As in the case of a royal commission, soldiers who confess or honestly testify about a war crime before an Inspector-General's Inquiry can not have their admissions used against them in a criminal prosecution. Those that lie, however, or who are the subject of corroborated adverse allegations made by others can be referred to the military or civilian justice system for investigation or possible prosecution.
If a war crime is proven, sanctions could range from demotion or discharge to a jail sentence. However, the Inspector-General may also release a royal commission-style public report that makes findings of fact and recommendations.
The defence department declined to respond to questions about the inquiry.
The Age, the Herald and 60 Minutes are revealing over the weekend new details of the war crimes allegations involving Australian special forces. Many of the war crimes allegations previously reported by The Age and The Herald have related to the Perth-based SAS Regiment. This is the first time the Sydney-based Commandos - another wing of Australia's special forces - has been implicated.
Members of the SAS have also confessed to more senior soldiers that they either participated in or witnessed the execution or brutalisation of prisoners.
One prisoner assault and death occurred on September 11, 2012 and was directly witnessed by several people, including two working with the SAS. They subsequently made disclosures to military superiors. It involved a detainee, Ali Jan, being kicked off a small cliff after being taken prisoner by the SAS in the village of Darwan. He was then shot and killed. The soldier accused of kicking Ali Jan off the cliff has vigorously denied this allegation.
The incident is being separately investigated by the AFP, as revealed previously in The Age and Herald.
60 Minutes will reveal more about the death of Ali Jan, including interviews gathered in Afghanistan. A mid-2012 incident, also to be detailed on 60 Minutes, involves the suspected summary execution of a wounded Afghan in the care of Australian soldiers.
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