The Taliban Has Accused Australia Of Human Rights Violations

The Taliban has boldly accused Australian soldiers of committing human rights violations.

Spokesperson Suhail Shaheen revealed in a wide-ranging interview with Channel 9 that they have 'bad memories' of Australia's involvement in the 20-year-long war in Afghanistan.

The Taliban's mouthpiece alleged: "Australia was part of [the] occupation, but they committed some of the worst and the brutal kind of human rights violations, by hacking fingers off dead bodies and killing farmers in Uruzgan and other provinces they were based.

"They should be prosecuted as per the law, humanitarian law. So we do not have good memories of them, rather bad memories. Despite their being [the] occupier, they violated some human rights violations."

Shaheen was basing these allegations off 'media reports, on the interviews of the victims', adding: "All the evidence [is] there."

It appears he's referring to the Brereton Report, a damning investigation into claims Australian soldiers violated human rights.

The inquiry found credible information that our troops unlawfully killed at least 39 Afghans, 'with two others subjected to cruel treatment, in 23 separate incidents, involving 25 members of the Special Operations Task Group', according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne told 2GB Radio she found these comments from Shaheen 'repugnant'.

"I think the Prime Minister has said we will ultimately judge the Taliban on their actions, not just their words, there is a requirement for them to deliver in terms of the future of Afghanistan," she said.

"He's also said he is very familiar with their form. Form would tell us that some of our realistic views may in fact be very accurate."

But the Taliban spokesperson wasn't done in his assessment of Australia.

There were 41 Australian troops who died during our involvement in the Afghanistan war and Shaheen said they ultimately have died 'in vain'.

"If my country's forces go invade your country, occupy your country and they died in your country, killing your people, occupying your country, what would you say? Would you say they came here for something legal and it was their right to invade your country? The same applies to my country Afghanistan," he said.

Shaheen also rejected reports of women being abducted from their homes and other allegations that Australians in Afghanistan were being attacked.

He said they are focused on 'peace' for their new regime and has accused Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison of making policy decisions based off misinformation.

"Some of the Australians are biased, they should make their stand to be more pragmatic. I think [the Australian government's] judgment should be fair and just not based on baseless reports," he said.

Featured Image Credit: 9News

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie