War crimes charges have been brought against a former member of the Australian military for the murder of an Afghan civilian. After a joint investigation by the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) and the Australian Federal Police, a 41-year-old man was detained in New South Wales and charged with murder, as stated in a joint statement from the OSI and the police. The former soldier is still being held in jail and will be arraigned in a Sydney court at a later date.
When he was serving with the Australian Defense Force in Afghanistan, “it will be alleged he murdered an Afghan male,” the statement read. The ex-soldier risks a life sentence if convicted guilty of war crimes, making him the first current or former member of the Australian military to face such allegations. The man’s identity was withheld by authorities. The Brereton Report of 2020 found “credible evidence” that some of Australia’s elite troops unjustly murdered 39 individuals in Afghanistan, prompting the establishment of the OSI. Twenty-three deaths of “prisoners, farmers, or civilians” between 2009 and 2013 were linked to 19 current or former members of the special forces, according to the report. A jury may find those deaths to be “the war crime of murder,” and two other occurrences could be considered “the war crime of harsh treatment,” according to the report. In some cases, there was just one victim, while in others, there were several. Several of the victims had weapons hidden on them, and the investigation discovered that rookie troops were occasionally made to “blood” detainees as part of a rite of passage.
ABC, an Australian public television station, aired an investigation in March 2020 in which a former special forces member named Oliver Schulz was shown killing a defenseless Afghan guy while he lay on the ground. Once the documentary was broadcast on television, he was immediately discharged from the service. Australia’s military has been accused of committing war crimes between 2005 and 2016, and the OSI is looking into the allegations. They have suggested having a civilian court and jury hear any allegations.
