A UK government minister is on a collision course with the law over his refusal to reveal the sources of allegations that British special forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
Johnny Mercer, Britain’s minister for veterans, has said “multiple officers” told him about alleged murders and a subsequent cover-up during the Afghan conflict.
He has refused to divulge their identities to a public inquiry examining whether a unit executed males of “fighting age” who posed no threat in the war-torn country between 2010 and 2013.
The Independent Inquiry Relating to Afghani-stan ordered Mercer, 42, to hand over the names next week or face a potential prison sentence.
Mercer refuses to disclose sources of allegations that British forces committed war crimes
In a statement, the Independent Inquiry Relating to Afghanistan revealed it had issued the MP with a Section 21 notice under Britain’s Inquiries Act, 2005 on March 13.
The published order compels Mercer to provide a witness statement containing the names of the whistleblowers by the evening of April 5. Failure to comply without a reasonable excuse would be “a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment and/or a fine”, the notice says.
Signed by the probe’s chairman, Charles Had-don-Cave, it adds that the High Court in London could enforce the order through contempt of court proceedings, which “may result in imprisonment”.—AFP
