The federal government has admitted in previously suppressed documents that it subjected Australian soldiers to interrogation techniques employed by adversaries which do not abide by the Geneva Conventions.
New details of a controversial military torture-resistance program have been placed on the public record after ABC Investigations applied in the Federal Court to have a suppression order on documents examining the program overturned.
The documents were tendered as part of a lawsuit brought by former soldier Damien De Pyle, who is suing the Commonwealth.
He claims his human rights were breached in 2019 when it forced him to commit humiliating sex acts as part of his training.
On Friday morning, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles said he would not comment on an ongoing case but stressed the program was voluntary and the safety of its participants was a priority.
"The training, which is undertaken today, is seeking to prepare people for an appalling set of circumstances," he told ABC's News Breakfast.
"But, clearly, the safety of those engaged in the training needs to be paramount. What was central to that needs to [be], and there is, an ability to tap out at any point as the training is being undertaken."
"If there are specific lessons to be learned from this case, or any case about how this can be done in a better way, then then we will learn those lessons."
Last week, a judge in the Federal Court granted an urgent request from the Commonwealth to block public access to all documents on the court file.
Lawyers for the Commonwealth argued the documents could compromise the country's national security if details of the training were made public.
But on Thursday, Justice Sarah Derrington partially overturned the suppression order after the ABC argued many details about the program had already been published by both the media and when the controversial program was the subject of a 2017 parliamentary inquiry.
She ruled redacted versions of some documents could be placed on the public record.
Soldiers hallucinated during training, court documents claim
Mr De Pyle said in his submission to the Federal Court that in March 2019 he was subjected to the gruelling three-day course held in the Kokoda Barracks in Queensland.
He claimed that over a 72-hour period he and his fellow soldiers were deprived of food, water, and sleep.
He said they experienced hallucinations after the first 34 hours of mock interrogations and imprisonment, leading some to injure themselves.
"These techniques led many, including myself, to suffer from visual and auditory hallucinations, extreme distress and led one participant to bleed from digging his wrists into his cuffs and another to jump into a wall due to his hallucinations," he said in material released by the court.
"While some may argue that this course only simulated the process of being captured, these techniques ... were not simulated.
"They really happened and we really had to endure them all."
He said he was forced to simulate sex acts on a doll. In a media interview last month, Mr De Pyle said he was told his fellow soldiers would be killed if he did not comply and because he was disorientated from the lack of food and sleep, he believed the threat.
Mr De Pyle, who is Catholic, also alleged he was instructed to renounce his Christian faith and simulate masturbation on a Bible.
The government's currently redacted response does not deal with Mr De Pyle's allegations of sexual humiliation. However, it denies that he was subject to sexually harassing conduct.
Defence previously told a 2017 Senate Inquiry into the training, known as the Conduct after Capture course, that "at no point ... are trainees exposed to sexual violence or sexual contact of any nature".
It said the training "is conducted in a humane and lawful manner" and is "compliant with applicable international humanitarian law".
Mr De Pyle claims the training breached his human rights.
He said the course left him with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression and resulted in him being medically discharged from the army. He is seeking financial compensation and an apology from the government.
Army defends torture-resistance program
Defence has long defended the program, which it says is designed to prepare soldiers for being imprisoned and tortured by enemy combatants.
However, in the documents released on Thursday, it admitted that the training "exposes trainees to likely interrogation methods and techniques including those employed by a non-Geneva Convention compliant adversary".
Mr De Pyle's statement of claim said soldiers were given little information about what to expect during the training, but were assured in a briefing that it would "safely replicate conditions, techniques, and experiences of those that had been in captivity".
He says he "was not advised he may be subjected to sexual assault, sexual discrimination or that there was a risk of participation that he may subsequently develop a major psychological illness".
In its response to Mr De Pyle's claims, the Commonwealth denied it breached his human rights by subjecting him to sexually harassing conduct.
It said the training was voluntary and soldiers could withdraw at any time and that its trainees were informed that the course would involve "the application of physical and psychological stressors including nudity".
It said medical staff and psychologists were present throughout the training and "a trainee could signal at any time that they wished to communicate with the medic, the ADF Psychology Officer or to withdraw from the training by raising their right hand or by saying 'I am raising my right hand'".
"The applicant volunteered for CAC ... training following a call for nominations to his brigade. It was not a requirement of the applicant's duties that he complete this training," its response said.
It said Mr De Pyle was also given an individual debriefing on the day after the training, in which he said he was not hurt or harmed and did not believe he was mistreated.
The 2017 Senate inquiry report into the program recommended the ADF warn soldiers about the risks of physical and psychological injuries before the training begins.
It also recommended external screening of soldiers after the training to identify and treat any psychological injuries.
The Department of Defence has declined to comment on the case.
Justice Derrington has given the ABC seven days to make written submissions in support of its application. She had also ordered Mr De Pyle and the Commonwealth to enter mediation on March 23.
Keiran Pender, a senior lawyer with Human Right Law Centre, said the government's move to suppress the case went against the democratic principle of open justice.
"The federal government's latest attempt to shroud important litigation in secrecy is contrary to the public interest," he said.
"Whistleblowers should not be silenced through suppression orders."
