Apublic inquiry into unlawful killings carried out by three British SAS units in Afghanistan opened at the Royal Courts of Justice in London in October. It comes after lengthy legal proceedings on behalf of two Afghan families – the Saifullahs and the Noorzais – to challenge the failure of the Ministry of Defence to investigate the cold-blooded executions of their family members during night raids, as well as claims that both the SAS and the government covered up extrajudicial killings.
The inquiry, chaired by Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, was commissioned by then-Defence Secretary Ben Wallace late last year after the legal challenges brought about by Leigh Day on behalf of the Saifullah family in 2019 and the Noorzai family in 2020. Documents disclosed during the judicial proceedings for these cases show British soldiers expressing disbelief at the accounts of the victims’ relatives, as well as a possibly deliberate policy on the part of British special forces to ‘engage and kill fighting-aged males on target even when they did not pose a threat’.
The government had resisted both sets of legal proceedings for several years, but was eventually forced to hold an inquiry after investigations into war crimes perpetrated by British forces in Afghanistan were carried out by The Sunday Times and BBC’s Panorama. As reported in FRFI 289, an edition of Panorama led to the release of Ministry of Defence materials and uncovered several cases of unarmed civilians being executed during raids carried out by the SAS. These included a 2010 incident in Gershek, Helmand, where a house was raided and all the occupants had their hands bound, before being brought out to a courtyard and shot.
The inquiry is investigating allegations into the killings of 80 Afghan civilians between 2010 and 2013 and will also scrutinise Operation Northmoor and Operation Cestro – two investigations carried out by the Royal Military Police into alleged executions, and whether they were effectively or properly conducted. The inquiry began on 9 October and in the first few weeks, Richard Hermer KC, representing the families of 33 victims, has provided evidence of several cases in which civilians were shot dead by SAS forces.
Hermer presented evidence on behalf of Mansour Aziz, whose brother and sister-in-law were shot dead in their sleep, while their two young sons were shot and wounded during a raid on 6 August 2012. The incident was never referred to the military police by SAS commanders. Aziz also provided a video testimony for the inquiry in which he stated that his nephews were severely traumatised by the incident and called on the court to bring justice.
Several other incidents have been detailed by Oliver Glasgow KC, the counsel to the inquiry, which include a night raid on 7 February 2011, in which nine Afghan males were shot dead, including a 14-year-old boy. Concerns had been raised regarding the conduct of SAS units after several internal documents and emails, including one in which an SAS sergeant described this incident as ‘the latest massacre’.
This led to the formation of Operation Northmoor in 2014, which identified a number of members of the SAS for possible arrest and progress of the investigation was shared with Downing Street. At the inquiry, Hermer cited a letter written by Graeme Beggar, chief of staff to the defence secretary, and sent to Downing Street in 2016, that warned the Royal Military Police was investigating a number of allegations related to the unlawful killing of Afghan civilians. Hermer highlighted that knowledge of war crimes committed by the SAS was widespread within the government. Operation Northmoor was ultimately shut down in 2019 but no prosecutions were brought.
During the inquiry, it was revealed that in 2011, General Gwyn Jenkins – then a colonel in the senior ranks of the SAS – had received reports of conversations in which members of the SAS admitted to committing extrajudicial killings. Under British law, General Jenkins was obliged to inform the military police, as this was evidence of war crimes having been committed. Instead, he enclosed the reports in a classified dossier, which was locked in a safe for four years. General Jenkins has since risen through the ranks to become vice chief of the defence staff, the second most senior position in the military. The identities of the officers involved remain withheld from the public by the Ministry of Defence.
This latest inquiry has only lasted a few weeks so far but has already been marked by attempts to shut out journalists and the general public. Several of the inquiry hearings will be taking place in private, which Lord Justice Haddon-Cave has stated is for reasons of ‘national security’ that are ‘highly sensitive’. Despite the inquiry being expected to last between 12 and 18 months, the judge and the legal staff involved in the inquiry have no plans to go to Afghanistan and visit the areas where these incidents took place.
The government has previously reacted to challenges against the armed services by pushing through the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Act 2021, which imposes several limitations on the ability to prosecute military personnel serving abroad. Labour colluded with the Conservatives in covering up human rights atrocities, when they called on their MPs to abstain on the vote for this law. The few Labour MPs that voted against the bill were disciplined and three junior shadow ministers were sacked. The law will make it even easier for British forces to carry out war crimes with impunity.
Britain, along with several other imperialist nations, occupied Afghanistan from 2001 until 2021, although the inquiry focuses solely on crimes committed by the SAS in the Helmand province within a three-year timeframe. Several instances of unlawful killings during this time have been heard at the inquiry and there will be more in the coming months, but the overall number of war crimes committed by British forces in Afghanistan over 20 years is undoubtedly far greater.
Seamus O’ Tuairisc
FIGHT RACISM! FIGHT IMPERIALISM! 297 December 2023/January 2024
