Reprieve for war crimes accused

AUSTRALIAN Special Forces troops accused of Afghanistan war crimes have been handed a reprieve with the International Criminal Court shelving an investigation into their alleged atrocities.

As former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith awaits the Federal Court in his defamation proceedings to decide whether there was truth in Nine’s allegations he was involved in unlawful killings, the ICC has confirmed there was no prospect of a “genuine and effective” investigation into broader claims against Aussie troops.

The decision follows last year’s Taliban Afghanistan takeover with the ICC declaring with its limited resources its attention was instead now focused on investigating alleged crimes committed by the Taliban and the Islamic State Khorasan Province.

Allegations against other parties had now been formally “de-prioritised” but with no statute of limitations could be revived if and when circumstances allowed. According to the ICC, the gravity of allegations against the Taliban and the ISKP were severe and included “indiscriminate attacks on civilians, targeted extrajudicial executions, persecution of women and girls, crimes against children and other crimes affecting the civilian population at large”. The ICC would not go into detail on where it was in probing claims against Australians.

“Confidentiality is a crucial aspect of our activities therefore the Office of the Prosecutor does not publicly discuss specifics related to its activities,” a spokesman told News Corp Australia.

The Inspector General of the ADF’s Brereton inquiry into allegations of war crimes by Australian Special Forces, mostly from the SAS, uncovered evidence of 39 murders against civilians and prisoners by up to 19 Australian troops.