A former Australian serviceman who was deployed to Afghanistan has been arrested for allegedly committing a war crime, specifically for the possible murder of a local civilian, in an unprecedented case that could result in a life sentence.
The Australian Federal Police reported Monday the arrest in New South Wales of a military officer — identified by Australian public television as paratrooper Oliver Schulz, 41 — after authorities have been investigating possible abuses during the presence of Australian troops in Afghanistan for years.
The case dates back to May 2012 and relates to the death of a civilian during a military raid in Uruzgan province in southern Afghanistan. An ABC report in 2020 showed footage of Schulz shooting the civilian, Dad Mohamad, when he was already on the ground in a wheat field and apparently posed no threat.
At an initial court appearance, the defense has not requested that he be released on parole and the judge has determined that he will remain in custody until the next hearing, which is not scheduled until May 16.
The Office of the Special Investigator, which examines possible crimes committed in Afghanistan in Australia, determined in 2020 that there were 23 incidents and 19 individuals that merited further examination by the police and urged that any potential crimes be tried in the ordinary courts – not the military.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
