Diggers’ rogue killer set to walk free in Afghan deal over prisoner swap

Australian families warned their sons’ killer is likely to be freed within days under a prisoner swap brokered by the Trump administration.

Hekmatullah shot dead the three Australians and wounded two as they played cards at a forward ­operating base north of Australia’s main base at Tarin Kowt in 2012 Picture: Four Corners

A rogue Afghan soldier who murdered three Australians as they played cards at their fortified base in ­Afghanistan is set to be ­released from jail after just seven years, under a prisoner swap brokered by the Trump administration.

Senior Defence officers have warned the families of Private Robert Poate, Lance Corporal Stjepan “Rick” Milosevic and Sapper James Martin that their sons’ killer, Hekmatullah, is likely to be freed in the next few days.

The warning came as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressured the Afghan government to release 400 remaining prisoners to secure peace with the Taliban after two decades of bloodshed.

Australian officials, including Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, have been frantically lobbying Afghan officials in an ­effort to keep Hekmatullah ­behind bars at Kabul’s Pul-e-Charkhi prison.

But an Afghan tribal assembly on Sunday green-lighted the ­release of the prisoners — including Hekmatullah — who had been held for the most serious crimes, including terrorist attacks on civilians and coalition forces.

Poate’s father, Hugh, said a lieutenant colonel and an army chaplain visited him and his wife, Janny, at their Canberra home on Friday to tell them their son’s killer was set to be freed.

“Janny and I looked at each other. It was like deflating a balloon,” he said.

Sapper James Martin

In a joint statement, the families of the three men said: “The news passed to us from senior ­Defence officers on Friday evening has come as a crushing blow. There can never be complete closure for us now.

“Hekmatullah should have been executed — as was his sentence from the highest court of­ ­Afghanistan — not released.”

Hekmatullah, who like many Afghans is known by only one name, shot dead the three Australians and wounded two others as they played cards at a forward ­operating base north of Australia’s main base at Tarin Kowt on ­August 29, 2012.

The so-called “green-on-blue” killings sparked a six-month manhunt involving elite Australian spies, special forces operators, and cutting-edge technological capabilities. Hekmatullah was eventually found and arrested in the Pakistani city of Quetta.

He later confessed to the killings, and vowed he would do the same again. He avoided execution, despite being handed a death sentence by the Afghan Supreme Court in 2013.

Australia joined international military operations in Afghanistan in October 2001 — in the wake of the September 11 terrorism attacks — with most combat forces leaving the country in 2014.

Lance Corporal Stjepan “Rick” Milosevic

Forty-one Australian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, — along with more than 150,000 Afghans, including 50,000 civilians.

The US has begun to withdraw its forces there after a peace deal with the Taliban in February that is tied to the release of 5000 prisoners by the Afghan government.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has released 4600 insurgents but is yet to release the final 400 prisoners, held for the most serious crimes. He convened a traditional tribal assembly late last week to determine their future.

The head of the council of ­Afghan politicians and community leaders, Abdullah Abdullah, ­reportedly said on Saturday that all 50 committees of the assembly supported the release of the ­remaining prisoners.

Senator Payne spoke to ­Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammed Haneef Atmar at the weekend, urging an exception be made for Hekmatullah.

It’s understood several other countries that participated in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force mission are seeking the killers of their own troops to be exempted from release.

Private Robert Poate

Mr Pompeo told the tribal ­assembly that it was vital the ­remaining prisoners were freed to finally bring peace to Afghanistan.

“We acknowledge that the ­release of these prisoners is unpopular,” Mr Pompeo said last week. “But this difficult action will lead to an important result long sought by Afghans and Afghanistan’s friends: reduction of violence and direct talks resulting in a peace agreement and an end to the war.”

President Ghani is expected to make a final decision on the matter within days, amid Taliban warnings that a permanent ceasefire will not be agreed without their release.

As the negotiations for the prisoner swap progressed last September, Mr Poate wrote to Senator Reynolds expressing concern that Hekmatullah would be among those to be released.

In a reply in March, Senator Reynolds said: “I am pleased to ­advise that yesterday the Australian Government received assurances from the Government of Afghanistan that Hekmatullah will be brought to justice pursuant to judicial laws of the Islamic ­Republic of Afghanistan. The Government of Afghanistan has further advised that it stands ready for comprehensive co-operation with Australia in this regard.”

The families took the letter as reassurance that their sons’ murderer would not be among those released.

They expressed lingering anger over the fact that the Australian government had not pressed ­Afghanistan to execute Hekmatullah.

Private Robert Poate’s father, Hugh, said a lieutenant colonel and an army chaplain visited him and his wife, Janny, at their Canberra home on Friday to tell them their son’s killer was set to be freed. Picture: Gary Ramage

Mr Poate said he asked Australia’s ambassador to Afghanistan why Australia had not done so, and was told the reason was “Australia does not support the death penalty”.

The families have also argued Hekmatullah should have been killed by a drone strike while he was in Pakistan, rather than being allowed to leave the country alive.

The latest developments follow the findings of a 2015 coronial ­inquest in Queensland that found a systemic failure in the chain of command created the opportunity for Hekmatullah to murder Poate, 23, Milosevic, 40, and Martin, 21.

The coroner said Australian commanders did not take the threat as “seriously as demanded” and the men could have been saved if Defence had adhered to orders by ISAF following a spike in “insider” attacks throughout 2012.

Hekmatullah’s anticipated release comes as Defence braces for the release of findings by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force into at least 55 alleged war crimes by Australian personnel in Afghanistan.