Sydney: On Thursday, one of Australia's living soldiers who had been accused of being complicit in the murder of six Afghans while serving in Afghanistan by three newspapers had his defamation claim against them dismissed.
According to Federal Court judge Anthony Besanko in Sydney, the newspapers successfully demonstrated the veracity of their claims that former SAS corporal Ben Roberts-Smith had participated in execution and murder in Afghanistan.
The case against Victoria Cross recipient Roberts-Smith has drawn attention to the covert actions taken by Australia's elite SAS troops during the war.
Also Read: Russian airstrike on Kiev results in three deaths
However, "in light of my conclusions, each (defamation) proceeding must be dismissed," Besanko stated in a summary of his findings. The papers supported their claims in relation to four of the murders they accused Roberts-Smith of committing.
Due to concerns about national security, publication of his complete justifications was postponed until Monday.
The Sydney Morning Herald, the Age, and the Canberra Times were sued by former special forces corporal Roberts-Smith, 44, for portraying him as having "broken the moral and legal rules of military engagement" in Afghanistan, where he served from 2006 to 2012.
Also Read: BRICS ministers meet in an effort to forge a group as a counterbalance to the West.
For his actions during six tours of Afghanistan, Roberts-Smith received numerous high-ranking Australian military awards, including the Victoria Cross, before establishing a successful post-military career as a sought-after public speaker and media executive.
But newspaper articles from 2018 implied that he went beyond the limits of proper military engagement.
The articles claimed that Roberts-Smith had killed an unarmed Afghan teen spotter and kicked a man in handcuffs off a cliff before ordering his execution by gunfire, citing other soldiers who claimed to have been present.
In his lawsuit, Roberts-Smith claimed that the media reports were untrue and based on the accusations of ex-soldiers envious of his accomplishments. He also asked for unspecified financial compensation.
The newspapers presented other soldiers and former soldiers as witnesses in court who backed up their claims in an effort to defend their reports by demonstrating that they were accurate.
Also Read: Indonesia's creative sector has its sights set on Saudi Arabian pilgrims
The verdict comes at a time when sentiments towards Australia's military are at an all-time high following a 2020 report that said there was credible evidence that special forces personnel killed dozens of unarmed prisoners in Afghanistan.
The redacted report did not name any soldiers, but it did refer two dozen current and former Australian soldiers for possible criminal prosecution.
After the federal government requested a delay in the proceedings so that government attorneys could check for unintentional disclosure of national security information, Judge Besanko said he would explain his decision on Monday.