Australia's most decorated soldier Ben Roberts-Smith loses libel case

Ben Roberts-Smith became an Australian icon when he stormed a machine gun outpost in Afghanistan alone in 2011. Credit: Sam Mooy/Getty Images AsiaPac

Australia's most decorated war hero has suffered a huge blow after a court ruled against him in a landmark case of alleged war crimes committed during the war in Afghanistan.

Ben Roberts-Smith became an icon of Australia and a symbol of valor when he stormed a machine gun outpost in Afghanistan alone in 2011, rescuing members of his SAS platoon. For his actions, he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

But that image began to erode in 2018 after three Australian newspapers ran articles alleging that Mr. Roberts-Smith had killed unarmed prisoners. libel.

But at the conclusion of a month-long trial, a federal court on Thursday ruled that of the six murder charges the newspapers filed against Mr. Roberts-Smith, four were essentially true. Among them is the murder of an Afghan farmer who was thrown off a cliff and then shot dead.

In another murder, Mr. Roberts-Smith fired a machine gun at a prisoner with a prosthetic leg in the back. compound codenamed Whiskey 108 in Uruzgan Province in 2009. He preserved the man's prosthetic leg as a war trophy and drinking vessel.

Taliban fighter's prosthetic leg was used by soldiers as a drinking vessel and military trophy.

Federal Court Judge Anthony Besanco ruled that the Sydney Morning Herald, Canberra Times and The Age were unable to prove that the ex-soldier assaulted his mistress, as they claimed.

But the judge ruled that other allegations of bullying were true.

He said that Mr. Roberts-Smith, who was also awarded a medal for gallantry for his service in Afghanistan, «violated the moral and legal norms of a military engagement» and dishonored Australia with his behavior.

But there could also be criminal charges — the ex-serviceman is one of several Australian servicemen who are being investigated by the Australian Federal Police for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

Ben Roberts-Smith was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in Afghanistan. Credit: JOHN STILLWELL/AFP after a court decision describing the saga as «the biggest defamation case in Australian history.»

The ex-serviceman has not faced any criminal charges in connection with the allegations and no decisions were made against him in the criminal court.

The defamation case was a civil proceeding with a lower standard of proof, namely the balance of probabilities, and not beyond reasonable doubt.

During the trial, he argued that of the six alleged killings, five were lawful killings of combatants in Afghanistan, and the sixth did not occur.

His lawyers claimed that former associates of Mr. Roberts-Smith fabricated charges against him because they were jealous of his venture capital and his fame.

“What he did not expect was that, having been awarded the Cross Victoria, he will have a target on his back,” said his lawyer, Arthur Moses.

The journalists who wrote the articles said that the court’s decision is confirmation of their work.

One of them, Nick McKenzie, said out of court: “Today is the day of justice; this is a day of justice for those brave SAS who stood up and told the truth about who Ben Roberts-Smith is — a war criminal, a hooligan and a liar.

Australia should be proud of those people in the SAS. They are the majority in the SAS and they stood up for what was right and they were justified.»

Martin Hamilton-Smith, head of the Australian Special Air Services Association, which represents SAS veterans, said: «This is a case irrelevant to whether someone is guilty or not guilty of a war crime; it was about whether Ben Roberts-Smith was defamated or not.

«Any accused soldier deserves the presumption of innocence.»

Special Forces soldiers became victims of bad decisions. on a military and political level,” he said.

“This is a very proud regiment, it is one of the best units in Australia's order of battle. These people have served us bravely from Malaysia, Borneo to Vietnam to the Middle East. It was a very traumatic event for a group of soldiers, 99.9% of whom did nothing but fight bravely for their country,” he said.