Andy interviews John Blaxland (academic from ANU) about the Brereton Inquiry into SASR War Crimes In Afghanistan.
The various court cases affected by the release of the much redacted Brereton Inquiry are summarised below:
(1) Potential criminal charges in the Federal Court against the SASR soldiers that carried out the murders of unarmed civilians in Afghanistan as shown on national TV programs such as the ABC’s Four Corners;
(2) A defamation case taken out by a soldier accused of war crimes. “Mr Roberts-Smith, a former Special Air Service soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, is suing The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald over reports he allegedly committed murder on deployments to Afghanistan and that he punched a woman in the face in Canberra.” – Sydney Morning Herald.
Mr Ben Roberts-Smith is suing various media outlets and certain journalists for defamation for claiming that he is a war criminal. The media concerned have lodged a truth defence.
(3) The criminal trial of the soldier, David McBride, who released the information that led to the Brereton Inquiry after the ADF and successive governments tried to cover up the massacres of farmers, their wives and children in Afghanistan.
Photo: Ben Roberts Smith leading Canberra's Anzac Day march last year. Dion Georgopoulos
