SAS soldier suspended over apparent ‘execution’ of Afghan man

SAS soldier­ seen killing an unarmed Afghan man in leaked video ­footage has been suspended and referred to Australian Federal Police.

An SAS soldier­ seen killing an unarmed Afghan man in leaked video ­footage has been suspended and referred to the Australian Federal Police.

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said in a statement she had made a formal referral to the AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw over the “alleged serious criminal conduct”.

The apparent execution, aired on the ABC’s Four Corners program­ on Monday night, was ­recorded on a helmet camera during­ a village raid in ­Oruzgan province in May 2012. The soldier called out “Do you want me to drop this c...?”, before shooting the man three times as he cowered on the ground, holding what ­appeared to be prayer beads.

Defence said in a statement on Thursday night that the soldier “has today been identified and suspended from duty”.

“The Australian Defence Force conducts its operations under strict rules of engagement and promotes a culture of ethical and lawful behaviour,” Defence said.

“These rules and cultural norms are enforced according to Defence’s obligations under Australian and international law.”

Earlier this week, Senator Rey­nolds said she was “deeply concerned­” by the Four Corners report and was “steadfast” in her support for an inquiry into the conduct of Australia’s special forces soldiers for the Inspector-General of the Australian ­Defence Force.

NSW Supreme Court judge Paul Brereton is examining at least 55 potential instances of ­unlawful conduct by Australian special forces in Afghanistan as part of his inquiry for the IGADF.

The allegations predominantly relate to ­“unlawful killings of persons who were non-combatants or were no longer combatants, but also ‘cruel treatment’ of such persons”, according to the IGADF report.

It said the inquiry was not focused on decisions made in the “heat of battle”, but on “the treatment of persons who were clearly non-combatants or who were no longer combatants”.

Four Corners interviewed ­former SAS member Braden Chapman, who said fellow ­soldiers routinely shot villagers’ dogs, ­destroyed property and planted radios and guns on the bodies of dead Afghans.

He said a senior soldier told him soon after he arrived in ­Afghanistan: “I hope you’re ready and prepared for this deployment because you have to make sure that you’re okay with me putting a gun at someone’s head and pulling the trigger.” “I was thinking, okay, we’re executing people now,” Mr Chapman said.

He told of another incident in which a wounded Afghan, who was stabilised by an Australian medic, was taken away and killed by another special forces soldier.