Alleged Afghanistan murders in heat of battle, says veteran

Heston Russell says some of the 39 alleged murders of Afghans by Australian special forces soldiers could have been in the “heat of battle” killings.

Former SAS soldier Heston Russell. Picture: Sean Davey

Prominent special forces veteran Heston Russell says some of the 39 alleged murders of Afghans by Australian special forces soldiers — including one captured on video — could have been in the “heat of battle” killings, contradicting a key finding of the Brereton war crimes inquiry.

The inquiry found none of the alleged murders of Afghans by up to 25 Australian special forces soldiers occurred in the “heat of battle”. But Mr Russell, who has led the fight by Afghanistan veterans to keep their meritorious unit ­citations, said an SAS operator known as “Soldier C”, who was filmed on another soldier’s helmet camera killing an unarmed prisoner who was cowering on the ground, might have been justified in doing so.

“That situation in particular is indeed an allegation that I am going to afford the presumption of innocence as opposed to the snapshot context that has been put forward to the media,” he said.

“It has to now be investigated, and is one of those being investigated. I was not there. It is not right for me to comment.

“Unless you were there and understand the heat of battle I am not going to dive into opinions.”

He said Australian special forces soldiers went out on patrol to kill or capture targets who were identified as terrorist insurgents, “and under legal authority could have done so in any circumstances”.

But the international Laws of Armed Conflict, which are replicated in Australia’s Commonwealth Criminal Code, prohibit prisoners being harmed if they are “out of combat”.

Mr Russell said the requirement that Australian soldiers release suspects if they were not proven insurgents could have driven soldiers to “heat of battle”, or “fog of war” killings.

“The Australian public haven’t been given the chance to understand what the fog of war is,” he said. “The fog of war is not ­assaulting up over an enemy trench and enemy putting their hands up and the decision there to either capture them or take them hostage.

“The fog of war is going out to capture the same insurgent that you’ve already caught three times, and had a fingerprint on a ball bearing that was pulled from a suicide IED vest that detonated in Kabul the week before.”

Mr Russell, a former 2nd Commando Regiment officer, said it needed to be remembered that all those accused of war crimes were innocent until proven guilty.

“Can we please have these conversations when we actually have facts proven through the legal process, and not opinions.

“I was there on the ground and did not see these things. If any of you were there on the ground … please speak up. Otherwise let’s allow the process to do what it has been designed to do under our democratic system.”

Mr Russell has also been vocal in opposing the disbandment of the Special Air Service Regiment’s 2 Squadron.