Afghan Files (Australia)

The Afghan Files are a set of Australian Defence Force documents about the operation of Australia's special forces in Afghanistan.[1] The documents were leaked to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) by David McBride,[2] and seven stories were ultimately published as a result. The documents covered a wide range of topics, however most notably it detailed multiple cases of possible unlawful killings of unarmed men and children.[1] In response to the leak, the Australian Federal Police raided the ABC's offices in June 2019,[3] confiscating all material related to the matter.[4]

The main author of the Afghan Files, ABC investigative journalist Dan Oakes, was later awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for "service to journalism" regarding his work on the Afghan Files.[5]

Issues covered

Problems with organisation culture

The documents raised concerns over the “organisational culture” including a “warrior culture”, with particular concern over “desensitisation” and “drift in values” among elite Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) soldiers serving in Afghanistan.[1] Additionally, the documents alluded to a deep division between the two elite units that make up the majority of the Australian Army special forces.

Unlawful killings

The documents contained at least 10 accounts of possibly unlawful killings of unarmed men and children.[1] Two of the incidents, both occurring in September 2013, are currently under investigation by the Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force.[6][1] These incidents involved the death of a man named Bismillah Azadi and his son Sadiqullah in an Australian raid in Uruzgan Province, when Bismillah allegedly pointed a pistol at SAS troopers. Contrary to the soldier's reports, police found Bismillah and Sadiqullah in bed beside each other the next day, apparently killed while asleep.[6] The documents also contained a report of a detainee alone with a soldier being shot after allegedly trying to seize a weapon.[1] Later in 2013 after these incidents, Australian troops allegedly killed an Afghan motorcyclist, and injured his female passenger. This incident allegedly sparked agitation from the Afghan authorities, who threatened to stop working with Australia unless the killing of unarmed civilians ceased.[1]

Severed hands incident

The files provided insight into the response of the ADF over, and background of an incident in which an SAS soldier severed the hands of an Afghan insurgent for identification confirmation purposes.[7] Preceding the event, the special forces were searching for an Australian National Priority Target codenamed "Objective Rapier", a senior insurgent commander responsible for numerous terrorist attacks.[8] Helicopters and over 120 troops were involved in the search.[8] During a fight in the Zabul Province, four insurgents were killed. An SAS Corporal searched the bodies, and then severed a single hand of each of the insurgents with a scalpel.[8] Troops are required to gather fingerprints and eye scans of every Taliban member killed, if it is possible to do so.[9] Mutilation of the dead, however, is a violation of the laws of war.[10] Captain Andrew Hastie, disturbed by the event, reported the incident up the chain of command.[8] Members of the troop pointed blame to an official training session held just nine days prior, in which two experts explicitly sanctioned the removal of hands.[8]

The SAS soldier responsible for severing insurgent hands was later cleared of all charges, with the inquiry finding it was not done in a spirit of revenge or barbarity with the intent to mutilate but with the purpose to identify the deceased insurgent.[11][12]

Government raid and investigation

ABC Ultimo Raid
Date5 June 2019 (2019-06-05)
Time11:32am[13]
Duration8 hours
Location700 Harris Street, Ultimo
Coordinates33°52′56″S 151°11′50″E / 33.8821373°S 151.1973052°E / -33.8821373; 151.1973052
TypeGovernment raid
CauseRelease of the Afghan Files
Target
  • ABC
  • Gaven Morris
  • Dan Oakes
  • Sam Clark
First reporterLorna Knowles

On 5 June 2019, the Australian Federal Police raided the Sydney based headquarters of the ABC over a period of eight hours,[3] reportedly over the Afghan Files.[14] Another agency, likely ASIO or ASD, was also present.[15] During the raid, lawyers representing the ABC were forced to interpret the warrant and work with the AFP to ensure privileged information not under the purview of the warrant was not released.[4][3] The raid was immediately met with wide public criticism,[16] and an FOI request into the incident revealed that the AFP were intentionally targeting journalists, and that prosecution of journalists involved was considered.[14] Following the raid the ABC began litigation against the AFP, claiming the warrant was too broad and thus not enforceable.[17][18]

In February 2020 the case was dismissed by the federal court,[19] and the AFP began the process of accessing the confiscated files while the ABC rushed to get an injunction.[20][21]

In June 2020, the AFP sent a brief of evidence to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP), the federal public prosecutor, recommending charges be laid against journalist Dan Oakes for breaking the Afghan Files story. As it was such a high profile case, prosecution also required final approval from the then Attorney General of Australia, Christian Porter.[22] In October 2020, the CDPP announced that, despite believing they would succeed in conviction on several charges, they would not be prosecuting Oakes.[23]

Senate inquiry

The raid on the ABC offices, along with another AFP raid on the home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst in the same month, became the subject of a Senate inquiry by the Environment and Communications References Committee on press freedom. The final report, published in May 2021, made 17 recommendations, including proposed reforms to laws that have the potential to criminalise public interest journalism, as well as proposals to improve federal protections for whistleblowers.[24][25]

See also

  • Brereton Report, the report into war crimes allegedly committed by the ADF in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Oakes, Dan; Clark, Sam (11 July 2017). "Afghan Files expose deadly secrets of Australia's special forces". ABC News. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Afghan Files military whistleblower David McBride back before ACT court". SBS News. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Knowles, Lorna; Worthington, Elise; Blumer, Clare (5 June 2019). "Police leave ABC headquarters with files after hours-long raid over special forces stories". ABC News. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b Lyons, John (4 June 2019). "ABC lawyers and AFP officers hover over a computer as they work out what comes within the terms of the warrant. At the end of the table, on the right, are the AFP digital forensics people.pic.twitter.com/gORbGB4a9l". @TheLyonsDen. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  5. ^ Oakes, Dan (26 January 2024). "Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the General Division" (PDF).
  6. ^ a b Oakes, Dan; Clark, Sam (10 July 2017). "Australian soldiers accused of covering up killing of Afghan boy". ABC News. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  7. ^ Brissenden, Michael (30 August 2013). "Claims Australian troops cut off insurgent's hands". ABC News. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d e Oakes, Dan; Clark, Sam (11 July 2017). "'What the f*** are you doing': Chaos over severed hands". ABC News. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  9. ^ Martienssen, Thomas (26 November 2014). "Left to the mercy of the Taliban". BBC News. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  10. ^ "Customary IHL - Rule 113. Treatment of the Dead". ihl-databases.icrc.org. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  11. ^ Clark, Sam; Oakes, Dan (14 September 2017). "SAS soldier cleared of war crimes after cutting the hands off dead enemies". ABC News. ABC. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Military Justice, a Contradiction in Terms?". quadrant.org.au. Quadrant Online. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  13. ^ Back, Lucy Cormack, Fergus Hunter, Alexandra (5 June 2019). "Australian Federal Police raid ABC headquarters at Sydney's Ultimo". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 March 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ a b Knowles, Lorna (24 June 2019). "AFP's warrant allowed officers to record fingerprints during ABC raids". ABC News. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  15. ^ Lyons, John (6 August 2019). "Secretive government agency linked to AFP raid on ABC, documents show". ABC News. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  16. ^ "'Attack on public's right to know': Critics slam AFP raids on ABC Sydney offices". SBS News. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  17. ^ "ABC sues Australian police force after newsroom raid". Deutsche Welle. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  18. ^ McKinnell, Jamie (2 August 2019). "ABC challenge to 'legally unreasonable' AFP raids hits court". ABC News. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  19. ^ "'A blow to democracy': Federal Court dismisses ABC case against AFP raids". SBS News. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  20. ^ Whitbourn, Michaela (24 February 2020). "'Very unhelpful and uncooperative': ABC and AFP face off in court". The Age. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  21. ^ McKinnell, Jamie (16 February 2020). "AFP warrants used to raid ABC valid, Federal Court rules". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  22. ^ Hayne, Jordan (2 July 2020). "Investigation into Afghan Files that sparked ABC raids enters next phase with brief of evidence sent to prosecutors". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  23. ^ Galloway, Anthony (15 October 2020). "Police won't charge ABC journalist over 'Afghan Files' stories". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  24. ^ Doran, Matthew (19 May 2021). "Press freedom inquiry demands government proves actual harm from journalists publishing classified information". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  25. ^ "Morrison Government must urgently legislate to protect whistleblowers and press freedom". Human Rights Law Centre. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.

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