UK peculiar forces (UKSF) unit could look prosecution aft grounds recovered pursuing enquiries by the SAS Inquiry, suggesting superior offences whitethorn person been committed successful Afghanistan, was handed to the subject police.
The grounds came to airy successful tribunal proceedings connected Monday and is the archetypal clip the enquiry has publically acknowledged that its findings could pb to transgression prosecutions.
The referral - made by the UKSF earlier this twelvemonth - was required nether the Armed Forces Act, which defines Schedule 2 superior offences arsenic including execution and manslaughter.
It relates to a fig of detention operations carried retired by British unit betwixt 2010 and 2013.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) recovered the grounds earlier this year, pursuing probe by the SAS Inquiry, and past UKSF referred it to the subject police's Defence Serious Crime Unit (DSCU), a specializer portion acceptable up successful 2022 to woody with the astir superior crimes.
Court documents obtained by the BBC suggest that the DSCU has undertaken a scoping workout of the evidence, but the portion has paused immoderate transgression investigations until the enquiry has been concluded.
Separately, the MoD told the BBC it was deemed inappropriate for transgression investigations to beryllium undertaken portion the enquiry was inactive ongoing.
The Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan is examining allegations that the British Army's Special Air Service (SAS) unlawfully killed radical during detention operations successful Afghanistan betwixt 2010 and 2013, and that elder officials sought to screen up the existent circumstances of the killings.
BBC Panorama has been investigating allegations the SAS executed handcuffed civilians and children, for much than 8 years. The nationalist enquiry was established successful 2022 successful the aftermath of Panorama's revelations.
The DSCU referral came to airy during a High Court proceeding brought by a witnesser to the inquiry.
The witness, a elder British subject serviceman who served successful Afghanistan, has won support to person the enquiry judicially reviewed aft subject witnesses' ineligible teams were excluded from closed-door grounds hearings with whistleblowers.
Much of the nationalist inquiry's grounds is being heard successful secret.
Lawyers for the elder serviceman argued the process was unfair and the serviceman should person an accidental to question the whistleblowers, either successful idiosyncratic oregon done his lawyers, regarding immoderate allegations made against him.
The inquiry's lawyers said it "must beryllium capable to get highly delicate information" from radical who whitethorn beryllium acrophobic astir giving evidence.
They said protected witnesses had raised fears of "grievous consequences by UKSF" if their identities were revealed.
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