Based on the results of a murder investigation into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, a former Australian Special Air Service (SAS) member was charged with murder on Monday.
According to a statement released by the Australian Federal Police, a 41-year-old man has been arrested in New South Wales and charged with the war crime of murder.
“It will be alleged he murdered an Afghan man while deployed to Afghanistan”, the statement said. The probe, carried out by the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI), was set up in 2021 to investigate the alleged war crimes.
The report said that 19 current and former members of the SAS and Commando Regiments who served in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016 are the subject of criminal investigations. The investigation has led to several arrests, but Schulz is the first.
According to the statement, the maximum sentence for the crime is life imprisonment. The man has been arrested and placed in jail until his court date.
An alleged helmet cam footage of Schulz, identified as Soldier C, shooting an Afghan man in a wheat field in Uruzgan province in 2012 was aired by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in its documentary Four Corners in 2020.
Almost 30,000 Australian military soldiers served in Afghanistan during the country’s 20-year tenure until the withdrawal two years ago. At least 41 Australian soldiers have lost their lives while fighting in the US against extremist organizations.
The Australian Defense Force (ADF) has stated that an unrestrained “warrior culture” among the soldiers is to blame for these crimes.
