Elite troops have been accused of killing and brutalising unarmed Afghan civilians and prisoners, in some cases slitting their throats, gloating about their actions, and planting weapons on their corpses to justify their actions.

Human rights and legal groups fear the ADF will release only a short summary of the key findings.

Rawan Arraf, principal lawyer and director at the Australian Centre for International Justice, who helped coordinate the letter, said that it was “imperative that the report of the Inquiry is made available to the Australian public.” 

“The public interest requires release. A summary of the report is not enough. The Australian people deserve to know what was done in our name, and to be engaged in a process of ensuring those responsible are held to account,” she said.

Horia Mosadiq of the Transitional Justice Coordination Group in Afghanistan, said the allegations of the crimes committed are “bone chilling”. 

“Those responsible must be held accountable. Our people have been trapped in an unbroken cycle of conflict and impunity for decades. Parties operate with total impunity and in disregard of international laws and norms. The report of this Inquiry should be made available publicly, the victims and their families deserve nothing less,” she said.   

It is understood Australian special forces soldiers were fuelled by “blood lust” when they tortured and executed prisoners in Afghanistan and then covered up their actions, according to a briefing handed to military chiefs which likened the conduct of some troops to that of American soldiers in Abu Ghraib.

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The confidential report was commissioned in 2016 by then chief of army Angus Campbell and is the most detailed and significant internal military dossier to be aired about the special forces’ war crimes scandal that took place during the war in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2015. 

Ruth Barson, legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre, said if this monumental report is not publicly released, “Australians may never know of the gravest of crimes that might have been committed in our names.”

“Opaqueness, selectivity and silence in the face of these horrific allegations should not be an option. There can be no truth and justice without transparency and accountability,” she said. 

The organisations are calling on the Assistant Inspector-General of the ADF, Justice Brereton to release publicly the final report, and where there are valid reasons for partial release, to recommend that the complete version be tabled and published at the conclusion of any relevant legal proceedings.