‘Humiliated’: Diggers accused of war crimes break silence

Special Forces troops alleged to have been involved in the murders of Afghan civilians and prisoners have spoken out.

Special Forces troops accused of war crimes have broken their silence through the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide to publicly denounce claims against them and plead for balance, justice and in one case forgiveness.

It has been a year since 25 Australian Defence Force Special Forces soldiers, largely from the SAS, were alleged to have been involved in 39 murders of Afghan civilians and prisoners in the conflict between 2005 and 2016.

They are sworn to secrecy about the allegations levelled against them by the Brereton Inquiry but in a submission issued by the GAP Veteran and Legal Services, some of the soldiers have outlined their trauma at standing accused and having to remain silent.

Special Forces troops are pleading for justice.

It is understood 17 soldiers had been issued “show cause” notices as to why they should not be sacked, ahead of an investigation by the Australian Federal Police, but 13 had already been medically discharged or quit.

“How we’ve been treated is completely unfair, bias and not timely,” one said, amid reports the investigation into war crimes could take at least five years.

While the soldiers or specific details have not been revealed, some of them told the Royal Commission they had no way of defending the claims and the stress on them and their families were taking their toll.

Dr Kay Danes says the testimonies from the Special Forces are heartbreaking. Picture: Josh Woning

They said they had lost senior positions in the military since Brereton based on moral judgments with no legal basis.

“My reputation and professional working relationships are damaged beyond repair. My career is effectively destroyed and will impact my transition to civilian life,” one said.

Another said: “A simple Google search says I’m a war criminal, yet I’ve done nothing wrong, illegal or criminal. How do I come back from that picture the media has painted?”

Another added: “I now struggle to live with the knowledge that once I was part of a world-class fighting unit, and now I feel humiliated and without any honour. I did nothing wrong.”

A fifth soldier added: “I did nothing illegal, and had I been a civilian accused of a crime, then that investigation would have been done completely differently, and I would not have been subjected to years of trauma for something I absolutely did not do!”

One soldier said he thankfully had managed his resilience while another asked for forgiveness.

“Allow those of us who wish to serve on, continue our service,” he said. “Understand that everyone makes a mistake - we are all human, after all. Help others learn from a mistake and assist Defence in realigning its war fighting leadership. We will need it in the future.”

The submission authors GAP Lawyers’ director Glenn Kolomeitz and human rights adviser Kay Danes said the testimonies from the Special Forces were heartbreaking particularly as to how the allegations had affected their families.