UK Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Plymouth Moor View MP, Johnny Mercer, has been ordered to provide evidence in a public inquiry regarding allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan. This mandate has been issued via a Section 21 notice under the Inquiries Act 2005, as reported by the BBC. The inquiry targets potential war crimes, allegedly executed by British Special forces (UKSF) against Afghan civilians and unarmed individuals from 2010 to 2013.
In his previous witness statement issued in November 2023 related to the inquiry following a Rule 9 request, Mercer stated that in 2017, he was briefed on serious allegations of incidents within the UKSF. Although cognizant of the severity of these allegations, Mercer believed that high-ranking officials were apprised of them and that investigations were underway. Mercer also indicated that he notified Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials and registered concerns about the allegations after joining the department in 2019, and that MOD-led investigations were being conducted.
Mercer’s initial understanding of the allegations in 2012, made by the BBC and the Sunday Times regarding civilian killings by UKSF, appeared on a different scale than what he understood the MOD was investigating. However, he later critiqued the investigations as flawed and addressed the need for an urgent referral of such cases to the Special Investigation Branch of the Royal Military Police. Mercer refrained from revealing the identities of those who had informed him about the incidents.
The inquiry into UKSF’s deliberate detention operations in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013 began in 2022. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed in July 2023 that investigations were underway into the UK Special Forces following allegations of ‘unlawful activity’. The inquiry intends to examine claims concerning the inadequacy of investigations by Royal Military Police on whether unlawful killings were executed by the British armed forces. The public inquiry pronounced that the UK Special Air Service was responsible for the killing of two Afghans in October 2023, in which two children were also injured.
Full details of the story can be found on Jurist – News.