civilians murdered
Australia’s most decorated soldier is a war criminal
06/01/2023, 2:05 p.m
In Australia, Ben Roberts-Smith is celebrated as a war hero. But then the media reported on the murder of Afghan civilians by the non-commissioned officer. Roberts-Smith takes action against the reports with a defamation lawsuit – and fails.
Australia’s most decorated soldier has lost a libel case against three newspapers accusing him of war crimes. A federal court in Sydney has concluded that former Special Forces Sergeant Ben Roberts-Smith murdered civilians during his operations in Afghanistan.
Among other things, Judge Anthony Besanko says Roberts-Smith pushed a handcuffed prisoner off a cliff in 2012 and shot dead a leg-amputated Afghan man in another case. The 44-year-old later encouraged his comrades to drink beer from the prosthetic leg, Besanko said. He described the behavior as “callous and inhuman”.
Roberts-Smith had sought damages from the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Canberra Times newspapers. In 2018, the newspapers discussed his involvement in the illegal killing of six unarmed Afghans. Judge Besanko said the newspapers had successfully proven their reports to be essentially true in relation to four of the six murder allegations. However, the verdict does not constitute a criminal conviction.
Roberts-Smith served in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2012. For his six appearances he received several high awards, including the Victoria Cross. A portrait of him hangs in the Australian War Memorial. After his military service, he embarked on a career as a public speaker and media manager.
The ex-soldier denied the allegations and described the witnesses on the other side as failed soldiers who were jealous of his awards. His lawyer, Arthur Moses, announced that he would review the verdict and possibly appeal.
After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Australia deployed more than 26,000 troops to Afghanistan. In 2013, Canberra withdrew its troops from the country. Since then there have been repeated reports of suspected war crimes by elite Australian soldiers.