Court Ruling: Australian Special Forces Soldier Responsible for Afghan Civilian Deaths
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Loading... - Nick Muiruri
- 01 Jun 2023
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Australian Elite Soldier Found Responsible for Afghan Civilian Killings as Lawsuit Fails. Ben Roberts-Smith, a highly decorated veteran honored with the Victoria Cross for his bravery, has lost a defamation lawsuit against three newspapers in Australia. The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and Canberra Times had reported in 2018 that Roberts-Smith, a former soldier of the esteemed Special Air Services Regiment (SASR), had allegedly murdered Afghan civilians during his multiple deployments to the country.
Roberts-Smith argued that these publications had tarnished his reputation, portraying him as a man who had violated both moral and legal principles governing military engagements, ultimately bringing disgrace upon his country and the Australian army.
In a concise judgment delivered in Sydney on Thursday, Judge Anthony Besanko stated that, based on the preponderance of evidence required for a civil trial, "the defendants had substantiated the substantial truth" of several allegations. These included Roberts-Smith kicking an unarmed and handcuffed Afghan man off a cliff in 2012 and subsequently instructing two soldiers from his unit to kill the gravely injured man. The judge also acknowledged that the journalists had substantiated the substantial truth regarding the murder of a disabled Afghan man in 2009 and the ordering of an execution of a man hiding in a tunnel within a bombed-out facility known as Whiskey 108.
The trial, spanning 110 days of hearings, captivated Australia. It was marred by delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and closing arguments were finally presented in July 2022. A total of 40 witnesses, including current and former soldiers, provided testimony, with Roberts-Smith accusing some of them of jealousy and falsehood.
Although Judge Besanko recognized the case's significance in the "public interest," the release of the complete judgment was postponed until Monday due to government intervention on national security grounds.
In addition to finding Roberts-Smith responsible for the killings of unarmed civilians, the judge concluded that he had engaged in bullying behavior towards fellow soldiers. However, other allegations against Roberts-Smith, including complicity in two other Afghan murders in 2012 and an assault on his romantic partner, were not proven.
