Federal court Ben Roberts-Smith

2022 - 5 - 16

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Image courtesy of "The Sydney Morning Herald"

Defence inquiry raised allegation Roberts-Smith kicked prisoner off ... (The Sydney Morning Herald)

A former soldier supporting Ben Roberts-Smith in his defamation case has said he first became aware of a key allegation against the war veteran during an ...

Those applications were rejected, and Justice Michael Wigney dismissed the application for leave to appeal against that decision on Monday. A former SAS soldier dubbed Person 11 has supported that account and has given evidence that he shot at the man with Roberts-Smith. The newspapers are seeking to rely on a defence of truth and have alleged Roberts-Smith was involved in six unlawful killings. The newspapers have called SAS and Afghan witnesses to support that account. “No,” Person 32 replied. Under the rules of engagement, prisoners could not be killed.

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Witness first heard allegations Ben Roberts-Smith kicked unarmed ... (The Guardian)

Former SAS soldier tells defamation trial he first heard allegation at interview with inspector general of Australian defence force.

That soldier told the court he had been ordered by Roberts-Smith to drag the man into the cornfield, where he heard a number of shots and saw Person 11 with their rifle raised. “They were armed and posed a threat to us,” he said. He was a legitimate target, he said, lawfully killed in accordance with the laws of war. He has been mentioned in previous evidence before the court. Roberts-Smith has maintained he could not have killed the man as alleged because there was no cliff from which to kick him. The newspapers are pleading a defence of truth.

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Image courtesy of "Australasian Lawyer"

Federal Court hears testimony regarding Afghan teen's killing in Ben ... (Australasian Lawyer)

The war veteran was accused of unlawfully killing the youth in the latest update to a long-running defamation battle.

The publications have argued that the material published about Roberts-Smith was “substantially true”. Proceedings on the case resumed in February after a six-month hiatus stemming from COVID-19 travel restrictions. According to The Guardian, Nicholas Owens SC, the counsel for the newspapers, put to Person 11 that there was no photograph of GB2, the Afghan teen, because he was “murdered by Mr Roberts-Smith in the compound.” Person 11 reportedly replied that he disagreed with Owens’ statement, and also denied that an AK-47 found next to the teen’s body was intentionally positioned there after the fact to falsely imply that the teen was armed at his time of death.

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