Top Australian soldier loses appeal over war crimes defamation case
Australia's most-decorated living soldier Ben Roberts-Smith, has lost an appeal against a landmark defamation judgement which found he committed war crimes.
A judge in 2023 ruled that news articles alleging the Victoria Cross recipient had murdered four unarmed Afghans were true, but Mr Roberts-Smith had argued the judge made legal errors.
The civil trial was the first time in history any court has assessed claims of war crimes by Australian forces.
A panel of three Federal Court judges on Friday unanimously upheld the original judgement, though Mr Roberts-Smith has said he will appeal the decision to the High Court of Australia "immediately".
"I continue to maintain my innocence and deny these egregious spiteful allegations," he said in a statement.
Mr Roberts-Smith, who left the defence force in 2013, has not been charged over any of the claims in a criminal court, where there is a higher burden of proof.
The former special forces corporal sued three Australian newspapers over a series of articles alleging serious misconduct while he was deployed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012 as part of a US-led military coalition.
At the time the articles were published in 2018, Mr Roberts-Smith was considered a national hero, having been awarded Australia's highest military honour for single-handedly overpowering Taliban fighters attacking his Special Air Service (SAS) platoon.
The 46-year-old argued the alleged killings occurred legally during combat or did not happen at all, claiming the papers ruined his life with their reports.
His defamation case - which some have dubbed "the trial of the century" in Australia - lasted over 120 days and is now rumoured to have cost up to A$35m ($22.5m; £16.9m).
Top Australian soldier loses appeal over war crimes defamation case
Australia's most-decorated living soldier Ben Roberts-Smith, has lost an appeal against a landmark defamation judgement which found he committed war crimes.
A judge in 2023 ruled that news articles alleging the Victoria Cross recipient had murdered four unarmed Afghans were true, but Mr Roberts-Smith had argued the judge made legal errors.
The civil trial was the first time in history any court has assessed claims of war crimes by Australian forces.
A panel of three Federal Court judges on Friday unanimously upheld the original judgement, though Mr Roberts-Smith has said he will appeal the decision to the High Court of Australia "immediately".
"I continue to maintain my innocence and deny these egregious spiteful allegations," he said in a statement.
Mr Roberts-Smith, who left the defence force in 2013, has not been charged over any of the claims in a criminal court, where there is a higher burden of proof.
The former special forces corporal sued three Australian newspapers over a series of articles alleging serious misconduct while he was deployed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012 as part of a US-led military coalition.
At the time the articles were published in 2018, Mr Roberts-Smith was considered a national hero, having been awarded Australia's highest military honour for single-handedly overpowering Taliban fighters attacking his Special Air Service (SAS) platoon.
The 46-year-old argued the alleged killings occurred legally during combat or did not happen at all, claiming the papers ruined his life with their reports.
His defamation case - which some have dubbed "the trial of the century" in Australia - lasted over 120 days and is now rumoured to have cost up to A$35m ($22.5m; £16.9m).
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