Former British Chief of Staff, General Lord Richards, evaluated the BBC’s findings in 2010 and 2011 that British special forces (SAS) repeatedly killed detainees and unarmed Afghans under suspicious circumstances. “If I were in office, I would order an investigation into these allegations. I’m sure Admiral Tony Radakin, who is still in charge, would make the same decision,” said Richards.
Military documents obtained by the BBCindicates that one of the SAS troops may have illegally killed 54 people in 6 months.
Speaking to the BBC, Lord Richards, who was Chief of the Defense Staff at the time of the extrajudicial killings, said that “such incidents are very rare in the British Armed Forces”.
The British Ministry of Defense, on the other hand, announced that a comprehensive investigation into the issue was closed in 2019 and there was no new evidence.
However, the main opposition Labor Party in England wants Defense Minister Ben Wallace to make a statement on the subject in Parliament.
‘Justice must be served’
John Healey, a Labor Party MP, said: “These allegations are very disturbing and such incidents can damage the reputation of the British Special Forces. Justice must be served both for those directly affected by the incident and for the British soldiers on duty today.”
According to the research of the BBC’s Panorama program, former British Special Forces Chief Mark Carleton-Smith was informed about the allegations when he took office a year after the events in Afghanistan. However, Carleton-Smith did not share with authorities some information that could be used as evidence when the Royal Military Police launched a murder investigation into the SAS troop.
In a written statement, the British Ministry of Defense stated that the BBC “has reached unfounded conclusions regarding the allegations whose investigation has been completed”, and that the British Armed Forces “operated bravely and in a highly professional manner” in Afghanistan.
‘**No one is exempt from judgment**’
James Heappey, the deputy minister for the armed forces in England, said, “If there is new evidence regarding the allegations, of course, we will initiate an investigation. No one in our institution is exempt from the judiciary, no matter how special it is.”
Speaking to the BBC, former Judge Sir Howard Morrison at the International Criminal Court said: “A judge-led investigation should be launched to at least re-examine the evidence. The Panorama investigation brings to the surface a very serious issue. No one would argue that it should be thoroughly investigated.” said and continued:
“SAS is perceived as an elite unit with rigorous recruitment standards and a history to be proud of. But no one working in military operations is above international and military law.”
“If there is any truth to the allegations, the Department of Defense will look into it thoroughly,” said Tom Tugendhat, Chairman of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.
“I did not witness the alleged incidents while I was on duty. British soldiers serve our country with an extraordinarily determined and courageous attitude.”
Operation Northmoor
In 2014, the Royal Military Police launched an investigation called Operation Northmoor and re-investigated allegations of British troops committing crimes in Afghanistan. Night raids by the SAS team, which the BBC Panorama team investigated, were also included in this investigation.
Operation Northmoor was shut down in 2019 with the approval of Defense Secretary Ben Wallace. The Ministry of Defense stated that there is no evidence of any crime being committed in Afghanistan.
However, speaking to the BBC, the officials responsible for the investigation shared that they were blocked by the British Army while they were looking for evidence. Investigative officials said they could not visit the crime scenes where the raids were carried out and meet with senior military officials.
One of the officials working within the scope of the investigation said, “We were stopped every way we tried. I think there was a lot of pressure from the top to close the investigation. At some point I realized that the evidence we found didn’t matter anymore and that these cases would never go to court.”
In a report prepared by the Royal Military Police, it was stated that SAS soldiers interviewed on the subject had “memory loss”, and statements were added that the soldiers had been prepared by their peers before the interviews.
“It would be irresponsible and wrong to imply that the investigation by the Royal Military Police did not contain sufficient evidence to go to court,” the Department of Defense said.
Following these statements, a Ministry of Defense spokesperson said that Royal Military Police officials communicated that they would like to see evidence obtained from the Panorama team and some other media outlets.
Australian investigation
A similar incident took place in Australia, and a 4-year investigation was launched when allegations emerged that Australian soldiers killed civilians illegally in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2013.
As a result of the investigation, it was determined that the soldiers committed 39 illegal murders and planted weapons in the raided areas.