SYDNEY: An Australian former soldier was arrested Monday over allegations that he murdered a man while deployed in Afghanistan, part of a long-running investigation into war crimes.
The arrest comes more than two years after a damning internal investigation found 39 civilians and prisoners had been “unlawfully killed” by Australian elite special forces.
A 41-year-old veteran was expected to be charged with a war crime and could face life in prison if found guilty, Australian Federal Police said.
“It will be alleged he murdered an Afghan man while deployed to Afghanistan with the Australian Defense Force,” police said in a statement.
Public broadcaster ABC reported the charges related to the shooting of a man in 2012 in the southern Afghanistan province of Uruzgan.
A 2020 inquiry revealed allegations of summary executions, body count competitions and torture by Australian forces, and recommended police investigate 19 people.
The findings were a watershed moment for Australia, which holds its military in high esteem and had attempted to suppress whistleblower reports of the alleged wrongdoing.
Australian police even investigated reporters involved in bringing the allegations to light.
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, more than 26,000 Australian uniformed personnel were sent to Afghanistan to fight alongside US and allied forces against the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups.
The arrest was part of ongoing investigations into alleged war crimes committed by Australian troops in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, police said.
The man is expected to appear before a local court in the state of New South Wales on Monday.
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Australian ex-soldier arrested over alleged Afghanistan war crime
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Australian ex-soldier arrested over alleged Afghanistan war crime
- 41-year-old veteran was expected to be charged with a war crime and could face life in prison if found guilty
- 2020 inquiry revealed allegations of summary executions, body count competitions and torture by Australian forces
Australia to ban citizen from returning to country under rarely-used terror laws
- They were briefly freed on Monday before being turned back by Damascus for holding inadequate paperwork
SYDNEY: Australia said on Wednesday it would temporarily ban one of its citizens held in a Syrian camp from returning to the country, under rarely-used powers aimed at preventing terror activity.
Thirty-four Australians in a northern Syrian facility holding families of suspected Daesh militants are expected to return home after their release was conditionally approved by camp authorities.
They were briefly freed on Monday before being turned back by Damascus for holding inadequate paperwork.
Australia has already said it would not provide any assistance to those held in the camp, and is investigating whether any individuals posed a threat to national security.
“I can confirm that one individual in this cohort has been issued a temporary exclusion order, which was made on advice from security agencies,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement on Wednesday.
Security agencies have not yet advised that other members of the group meet the legal threshold for a similar ban, he added.
Introduced in 2019, the legislation allows for bans of up to two years for Australian citizens over the age of 14 that the government believes are a security risk.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday some members of the cohort, that includes children, had aligned themselves with a “brutal, reactionary ideology and that seeks to undermine and destroy our way of life.”
“It’s unfortunate that children are caught up in this, that’s not their decision, but it’s the decision of their parents or their mother,” he added.
News of the families’ possible return has caused controversy in Australia, where support for the right-wing, anti-immigration One Nation party has surged in recent months.
A poll this week found One Nation’s share of the popular vote at a record high of 26 percent, above the combined support for the traditional center-right coalition currently in opposition.
Thirty-four Australians in a northern Syrian facility holding families of suspected Daesh militants are expected to return home after their release was conditionally approved by camp authorities.
They were briefly freed on Monday before being turned back by Damascus for holding inadequate paperwork.
Australia has already said it would not provide any assistance to those held in the camp, and is investigating whether any individuals posed a threat to national security.
“I can confirm that one individual in this cohort has been issued a temporary exclusion order, which was made on advice from security agencies,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement on Wednesday.
Security agencies have not yet advised that other members of the group meet the legal threshold for a similar ban, he added.
Introduced in 2019, the legislation allows for bans of up to two years for Australian citizens over the age of 14 that the government believes are a security risk.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday some members of the cohort, that includes children, had aligned themselves with a “brutal, reactionary ideology and that seeks to undermine and destroy our way of life.”
“It’s unfortunate that children are caught up in this, that’s not their decision, but it’s the decision of their parents or their mother,” he added.
News of the families’ possible return has caused controversy in Australia, where support for the right-wing, anti-immigration One Nation party has surged in recent months.
A poll this week found One Nation’s share of the popular vote at a record high of 26 percent, above the combined support for the traditional center-right coalition currently in opposition.
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