Ex-SAS soldier loses trial over lifting ban on book about terrorist attacks in Kenya

Christian Craighead condemned the ban as a violation of his human rights to freedom of expression. Photo: AP/Ben Curtis

A former SAS soldier has lost his legal battle to overturn a ban on a book detailing his role in countering an Islamist terrorist attack in Kenya that killed 27 people.

Christian Craighead was awarded the Distinguished Valor Cross for helping Kenyan authorities combat an armed attack by Al-Shabaab terrorists on the Dusit D2 hotel complex in Nairobi in January 2019.

He told the high court that the ban imposed on his book by the Defense Secretary was a violation of his human right to freedom of expression.

But Ms Justice Steyn ruled that national security and the protection of the public through secrecy SAS professional activities reject his claims to freedom of speech.

Mr Craighead, using a pseudonym to protect his identity, wrote a book about A friend once told him that an upscale hotel and office complex in the Westgate area of ​​Nairobi had been attacked .

The former SAS soldier, who had moved to Nairobi, rushed to the scene in his pick-up truck with a weapons case in the back seat.

“Over the next 22 hours, Chris relied on his nearly three decades of elite army experience. train to win a deadly game of hide and seek with a squad of ethnic Somali terrorists who had already detonated one suicide bomb and were intent on killing as many other people as possible,” the book details.

< img src="/wp-content /uploads/2023/10/cafc39c3d8390a34f2112b68f51a89a0.jpg" />Christian Craighead was wounded in the arm by a Dragunov sniper rifle. Photo: Black Rifle Coffee Podcast/YouTube

“First alone, and then as the leader of a small, ragtag group of soldiers and civilians. Chris walked through the complex where hundreds of innocent hotel employees, guests and office workers were still trapped. Having cleared the buildings and brought people to safety, he discovered the terrorists.

“A battle ensued using weapons, grenades and tactics. Chris and his men got out. The terrorists did not do this. Meticulously told in minute detail, «One Man In» is the unforgettable story of the heroism of a special forces soldier who was in the right place at the right time and decided to act.»

< p>Twenty-two victims were killed, and five terrorists.

Ms Justice Steyn said that while she gave «some weight» to Mr Craighead's wish to tell his story, she took into account that he was not prohibited from publishing any information about his upbringing or life before he joined to the Armed Forces, or about his service prior to joining the SAS.

'Public interests'

She said the Defense Secretary had clarified during a private hearing that Mr Craighead could state, although only «in general terms «He was only prevented from giving a report on the operation, the Dusit incident, in which he participated as a member of the British special forces,» she added.

“On the other side of the balance is the interests of society reflected in the testimony of the accused. These public interests entail protecting lives, protecting national security, maintaining the morale and effectiveness of the UKSF, and protecting relationships with defense partners.»

«On the evidence before me, the interests of the community significantly outweigh those of plaintiff in publishing a memoir about the Dusit incident (even if it is supported by the public interest in obtaining the information he wishes to disclose and the interest of his publisher).