CANBERRA, Australia — Australian federal law enforcement officials have unveiled historic war crime charges against a 47-year-old former Australian soldier, marking only the second such prosecution stemming from decades of Australian military deployments in Afghanistan. The accusations, laid Tuesday, center on claims the veteran unlawfully killed five unarmed, non-combatant Afghans between 2009 and 2012 while he served with Australian forces in the country.
The identity of the accused has not been publicly released by authorities. He was taken into custody Tuesday morning at Sydney International Airport, after disembarking a domestic flight from Brisbane, and is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Sydney later the same day.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett outlined the specifics of the allegations during a press briefing Tuesday. According to Barrett, prosecutors will argue that all five victims were in custody, disarmed, and under the control of Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel at the time of their deaths, meaning none were participating in active hostilities. “It will be alleged the victims were shot by the accused, or shot by subordinate members of the ADF in the presence of and acting on the orders of the accused,” Barrett told reporters.
This prosecution comes nearly four years after the release of a landmark 2020 independent military inquiry, which uncovered conclusive evidence that elite Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) and commando troops had unlawfully killed 39 unarmed Afghan civilians, prisoners, and local farmers between 2005 and 2016. In response to the report’s findings, the Australian government established the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) to probe the allegations and pursue criminal charges where evidence warranted.
This is only the second war crime charge brought against an Australian Afghanistan veteran to date. The first case involves 44-year-old former SAS soldier Oliver Schulz, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of war crime murder. Schulz is accused of shooting 39-year-old Dad Mohammad three times in the head in a wheat field in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan Province in May 2012.
Under Australian federal law, a conviction for war crime murder carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The offense is legally defined as the intentional killing of a person not actively participating in armed conflict, a classification that includes civilians, captured prisoners of war, and wounded combatants.
OSI’s investigations director Ross Barnett told reporters that as of the latest update, investigators have probed 53 separate war crime allegations stemming from the 2020 report, with 39 of those inquiries concluding without sufficient evidence to file charges.
Commissioner Barrett emphasized Tuesday that the alleged misconduct tied to the new charges is limited to a small number of current and former ADF personnel, and does not reflect on the broader service of the Australian military. “The alleged conduct related to these charges is confined to a very small section of our trusted and respected ADF which helps keep this country safe,” Barrett said. “The overwhelming majority of our ADF do our country proud. Today’s charges are not reflective of the majority of members who serve under our Australian flag with honor, with distinction and with the values of a democratic nation.”
Between 2001, when Australia joined the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, and the full withdrawal of Australian troops in 2021, roughly 40,000 Australian military personnel deployed to the country, with 41 Australian service members killed during the 20-year campaign.