Murder in Afghanistan: Problems with the Taliban
Australia’s most decorated soldier, the now disgraced Ben Roberts-Smith, was part of the hunt to find him.
Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated soldier, was part of the hunt for Hekmatullah, who killed three Australian soldiers. Source: Getty / Stefan Postles
Acting on intelligence, Roberts-Smith and fellow special forces soldiers first raided the village of Sola and an imam and his adult son were shot dead. An internal investigation by the Australian Defense Force (ADF) at the time found that these killings were justified.
That was until Australian journalist and anthropologist Dr. Michelle Jasmin Dimasi traveled there to interview local witnesses at the murder scenes and pave the way for SBS Dateline’s visit.
The cliff in remote Darwan, the place where Ali Jan died.
Alleged war crimes
Last June, Federal Court Judge Anthony Besanko found it was “substantially true” that Roberts-Smith had kicked Ali Jan, handcuffed, off a small rocky cliff before he was shot dead on Roberts-Smith’s orders.
Roberts-Smith is appealing his failed defamation case against several Australian publishers who branded him a ‘war criminal’. Source: MONKEY / Bianca De Marchi
Roberts-Smith and another soldier denied this version of events at the trial, saying they only shot a legitimate enemy who was spotted using a radio. Roberts-Smith is currently appealing his failed defamation case.
The two other deaths in Darwan that day did not involve Roberts-Smith and were not part of the defamation case.
First journalist in Darwan
Shahzada was a video witness during the defamation trial of Roberts-Smith. The judge said he approached Shahzada’s story with caution but accepted certain aspects of it.
Farmer Shahzada gave evidence via video link in the defamation trial of Roberts-smith as a witness to Ali Jan’s murder.
The almond room
The soldiers who shot them gave their version of events during Roberts-Smith’s libel trial.
They say Yaro Mama Faqir and Haji Nazar Gul were taken separately to the almond room before being shot dead.
Sayed Hamid gave his account of the events leading to the murders from the almond room where the men were murdered.
In a video sent to Dateline, Sayed Hamid said he was detained along with the men, who held up their hands and were searched and interrogated by Australian soldiers.
She says the pair were “poor men sitting in their own homes” and that the Taliban were not there.
Yaro Mama’s sister, Shawo, found the men’s bodies in the tonsil room.
“They were pushed into one room and I was pushed into another,” she said.
During Roberts-Smith’s defamation trial, Person 35 confirmed he was under investigation for war crimes, but denied any wrongdoing.
The pursuit of justice
The Office of the Special Investigator (OSI), established in response to the Brereton report, has said it will not travel to Afghanistan due to security reasons.
Saul says that while it is “possible to travel safely to Afghanistan”, Australian investigators could also obtain witness statements in other ways, such as via video link, through foreign lawyers in the country or intermediaries such as the United Nations.
The family stayed behind
Dimasi also spoke to Ali Jan’s widow, Bibi Dhorko, and two of their children, who were babies when he was killed.
Ali Jan’s widow, Bibi Dhorko, and her family say they have been left destitute since her husband’s death.
Dhorko says the family has been left destitute by the loss of their main breadwinner and the children now work as laborers picking cotton.
Saul said he is concerned about the time it has taken to investigate allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan and says Australia must “pull out all the stops” to pursue justice.
“These are very complex matters that necessarily require a significant amount of time.”