An Australian Senator says she’s referred the Australian Defence Force to the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes.
Jacqui Lambie today said she’d called on the court to investigate the responsibility of senior ADF officers for “potential war crimes committed in Afghanistan.”
The Tasmanian Senator said there was a “shocking lack of accountability” at the top of the nation’s defence force, along with a “culture of cover up”.
“It is the ultimate boys’ club; well today I say is enough.”
During a passionate speech in Canberra, Lambie accused the Australian government of failing to act.
“They’re hoping that Australians will forget that when alleged war crimes in Afghanistan were investigated, our senior commanders got a free pass, while our Diggers were thrown under the bus.”
The outspoken Senator said she’d made a referral to the ICC, asking the organisation to investigate the country’s high commanders as a “last resort.”
Lambie wanted to table documents relating to her referral today, however that was delayed due to the opposition and Greens saying they hadn’t yet read them.
The move comes hot off the heels of a high-profile defamation case involving Australia’s most decorated war hero Ben Roberts-Smith.
He’d sued several prominent newspapers over allegations he’d committed war crimes which were found to establish the substantial truth and contextual truth in their reporting.
The publications detailed Roberts-Smith's actions in Afghanistan, reporting that he'd shot a man with a prosthetic leg, and kicked an unarmed man off a cliff then ordering him shot dead.
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