Thousands of Australian soldiers could be STRIPPED of their medals after bombshell report found a litany of alleged atrocities committed in Afghanistan - but media billionaire Kerry Stokes has vowed to stand by the SAS troops
Thousands of Australian soldiers could lose their medals after a report claimed there was no longer 'sustained outstanding service' after a damning inquiry exposed a litany of alleged war crimes.
The atrocities allegedly committed by Australian Special Air Service members were so heinous they that more than 50 pages in Thursday's report had to be redacted.
Major General Paul Brereton's investigation took four and a half years to scrutinise the conduct of special forces soldiers between 2005 and 2016.
More than 26,000 Australians served in Afghanistan during that time, with up to 3,000 in the Special Operations Task Group.
In a devastating blow for innocent troops, all of those 3,000 soldiers could now lose their citations for 'sustained outstanding service'.
One video shows an Australian soldier opening fire on a man as he cowers in a field at the village of Deh Jawz-e Hasanza in Afghanistan and is under investigation
Thousands of Australian soldiers could have their medals stripped after a report found there was no longer 'sustained outstanding service' after a damning inquiry exposed a litany of alleged war crimes
'It has to be said that what this report discloses is disgraceful and a profound betrayal of the Australian Defence Force's professional standards and expectations. It is not meritorious,' the report concluded.
'The inquiry has recommended the revocation of the award of the Meritorious Unit Citation, as an effective demonstration of the collective responsibility and accountability of the Special Operations Task Group as a whole for those events.'
With 39 Afghans allegedly killed at the hands of Australian servicemen, 19 individuals may be referred for criminal prosecution.
But media mogul and Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes has offered to fund the legal costs of the soldiers accused of war crimes and others dragged into the saga, according to his spokesman.
A fund he has already established can be used to support the soldiers during the investigation by a special prosecutorial unit in the Department of Home Affairs, , according to the AFR.
The money could be spent on legal fees, as well as mental health treatment, but Mr Stokes does not control the fund directly and its executors would make the decision.
A case-by-case analysis will be undertaken for the cancellation of individual awards such as gallantry, valour and distinguished service.
Media mogul and Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes has offered to fund the legal costs of the 25 accused soldiers and others dragged into the saga
'It is difficult to see how any commander at the Special Operations Task Group, Squadron or Troop level, under whose command or "on whose watch" any substantiated incident referred to in this report occurred, could in good conscience retain a distinguished service award in respect of that command,' the report summarised.
The Australian Defence Force report uncovered an alleged 39 unlawful killings, along with deceit and cover-ups, by 25 current or former SAS personnel.
The soldiers are accused of engaging in body count competitions and torturing civilians, as well as allegations of drug and alcohol abuse.
The inquiry recommended soldiers' medals be reviewed and has already recommended certain individuals from certain units and deployment rotations be stripped.
The identity of the men has been redacted.
The findings point to a culture of violence, mistreatment of war prisoners and secrecy (pictured, pages of the redacted report)
The inquiry's findings point to a culture of violence, mistreatment of war prisoners, and secrecy that allegedly covered up executions.
In light of what has been labelled the 'most shameful episode in Australia's military history', the SAS second squadron will be disbanded, and soldiers could be stripped of their medals and potentially be prosecuted for war crimes.
Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it felt 'disgust' after viewing the contents of the report but also stated the inquiry was an 'important step towards justice' for the 'unforgivable' alleged crimes.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison called Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's office on Thursday to express his deepest sorrow and assure him that a special investigator would be brought in to prosecute those involved.
The Afghanistan independent Human Rights Commission released a statement condemning the actions of Australian special forces.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison had called Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's office earlier today to express his deepest sorrow and assure him that a special investigator would be brought in to prosecute those involved
'Clearly demonstrates that Australian forces engaged in murder and brutalisation of Afghans, including children, through deliberate inhumane acts of violence behind which was a consensus that Afghan life, whether of men, women or children, had no inherent worth or dignity,' the statement said.
'Only through a series of independent inquiries will we uncover the true extent of this disregard for Afghan life, which normalised murder, and resulted in war crimes.'
Key findings from the report:
Human Rights Watch Australia director Elaine Pearson told Al Jazeera Afghan victims deserve swift and independent justice for the 'deliberate and cold-blooded killings'.
Speaking to BBC, she said: 'Ultimately, if we're talking about accountability, this should not just stop with the people who pulled the trigger and killed these people in Afghanistan.
'This is also about command responsibility and so I think that it's very important that those who knew or who should have known are also held to account and are held criminally liable for these acts.
'Because ultimately, this was a culture where killings were normalised, in some cases, encouraged. That culture really needs to change.'
Amnesty International Australia said although it is important to bring justice, families of the alleged victims should be of equal priority.
'The full impact upon the families and communities of these 39 murders must be fully explored and appropriate support provided to those families and communities,' they said.
Australia Governor-General David Hurley, who was chief of the ADF when the alleged war crimes were committed, offered condolences to the Afghan victims' families.
He said the 'unforgivable atrocities' were committed by 'a small number of individuals and deliberately concealed from immediate chains of command'.
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd said he's 'disgusted' that Australian soldiers serving in Afghanistan could have committed cold-blooded murder.
Mr Rudd was Australia's leader during part of the military engagement in Afghanistan.
Lieutenant General Angus Campbell released the report on Thursday and blasted the culture in the SAS
Pages upon pages of the 456 page report were redacted for security purposes while individual words and phrases are all that is visible on other pages
'These accounts represent flagrant violations of our solemn legal obligations ... as well as a betrayal of the moral and ethical code that Australians expect their military to advance and defend,' Mr Rudd said.
The Australian Government said it would pay compensation to Afghan families whose loved ones were murdered by Australian soldiers.
Up to 3,000 soldiers could be stripped of their Meritorious Unit Citation - a medal handed out for 'sustained outstanding service' in the special forces.
Potential criminal trials are expected to be heard in the Supreme Court and not a closed-door military tribunal, if the offences rise to the level of war crimes.
These cases could take many years and cost both the government and soldiers huge sums of money.
The alleged crimes: A timeline
2006
* First recorded alleged murder of wounded Afghan prisoner
2009
* Alleged murders of Afghan locals by ADF members with complicity of patrol commander
2010
* Alleged assault and cruel treatment of Afghan prisoner
* Alleged murders of Afghan prisoners with complicity of patrol commander and deletion of evidence to conceal killings
2012
* Various instances of alleged civilian murders by Australian soldiers
* Several alleged murders of prisoners and use of 'throwdowns' to conceal killings
* Alleged murders of Afghan locals surrendering to Australian troops
* Alleged assault and cruel treatment of Afghan prisoner
* Alleged murders of Afghan combatants separated from their weapons
2013
* Alleged murder of civilians
* Alleged murder of prisoners
2016
* Inspector-General of ADF asked to investigate rumours of misconduct and war crimes by Australian troops in Afghanistan
* Justice Paul Brereton and his team interviewed more than 400 witnesses and examined tens of thousands of documents during four-year review
2020
* Justice Brereton finalises inquiry
* Chief of Defence Angus Campbell published highly-redacted version of final report
* Credible evidence 25 current and former ADF personnel have committed war crimes
* 19 allegations referred to Australian Federal Police for possible prosecution
* 39 Afghans believed to have been murdered by Australian troops between 2006 and 2016