UK Ministry of Defense confirms UK Special Forces at center of Afghanistan war crimes inquiry News
Photo: Graeme Main/MOD, OGL v1.0OGL v1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
UK Ministry of Defense confirms UK Special Forces at center of Afghanistan war crimes inquiry

United Kingdom (UK) Defense Secretary Ben Wallace announced Wednesday that UK Special Forces are the focus of an inquiry into allegations of “unlawful activity” in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013. The independent inquiry, which Wallace commissioned in 2022, addresses allegations that the response by Royal Military Police investigating whether unlawful killings had been carried out by the British armed forces was inadequate.

In a short statement, Wallace said:

It is right that the Ministry of Defence continues to balance the requirement to be as open and transparent as possible against national security considerations. The inquiry is now reaching the stage of substantive hearings, and I can confirm that the allegations relate to the conduct of UK special forces. This confirmation is made in the exceptional circumstances of this inquiry, where the activities of this organisation are the central focus of the inquiry’s investigation, as set out in its terms of reference.

The inquiry is looking into whether there can be lessons learned by the Ministry of Defense (MOD) as a result of these allegations and whether any progress has been made across the various departments in regard to MOD’s accountability procedures and the handling of evidence. Leading the inquiry is Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, a Senior member of the judiciary in England and Wales.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Fyodor Dostoevsky sentenced to death

Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky was sentenced to death on November 16, 1849 over his involvement in the progressive Petrashevsky Circle of intellectuals. Dostoevsky and his codefendants were scheduled to be executed on December 22 of that year, but their execution was stayed by Tsar Nicholas I after the execution ritual had been carried out. Dostoevsky was sent to Siberia instead to serve a four-year sentence. Learn more about the mock execution of Dostoevsky.

Canada executed Metis leader for treason

On November 16, 1885, the Canadian government executed Metis leader Louis Riel for high treason in the wake of the "Northwest Rebellion" that had pitted the Metis (descendants of French traders and native tribes) in what is now Saskatchewan against Canadian troops. Although Riel has lately been rehabilitated as an Indigenous francophone patriot of the Canadian West, his trial and execution remain sore points between English and French Canada.

US President Nixon signs Trans-Alaska Pipeline Act

On November 16, 1973, US President Richard Nixon signed the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Act into law. In addition to creating an oil pipeline across the state, the Act also quashed all environmental-legal challenges regarding its construction.