UK defence ministry's delayed document discovery could stall Afghanistan war crimes probe

The British Ministry of Defence recently accessed a batch of documents that might be linked to accusations of civilian killings by the United Kingdom's special forces in Afghanistan. Charles Haden-Que, who leads the investigative panel, described the belated discovery as concerning and warned it could further delay the probe, which is already at an advanced stage. The investigation was launched after reports surfaced of suspicious civilian deaths involving British special forces during the Afghan conflict.

Over the past three years, the inquiry has been hampered by issues such as national security considerations. Legal expert Ruhollah Sakhezadeh argued that any postponement constitutes a further wrongdoing, eroding public trust in the independence of criminal institutions. In addition to the UK case, Australian special forces have also been accused of war crimes in Afghanistan, but their investigation, initiated after a 2020 report, has yet to reach a conclusion.