Former Australian SAS Veteran Loses Defamation Case Over Afghanistan Executions
Former Australian SAS veteran Ben Roberts-Smith has lost a defamation case against three newspapers over reports that he was involved in the execution and murder of six Afghans during deployment to Afghanistan.
The newspapers were able to prove that their reports were true, and the case has brought attention to the secretive wartime conduct of Australia's elite SAS troops.
Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient, had sued the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age, and the Canberra Times for defamation.
He had won several top military honors for his actions in Afghanistan and has since had a post-military career as a public speaker and media executive.
The judgment comes at a time when there is heightened sensitivity around Australia's military due to a 2020 report that said there was credible evidence that members of the special forces killed dozens of unarmed prisoners in Afghanistan, though no soldiers were named in the report.
Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient, had sued the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age, and the Canberra Times for defamation.
He had won several top military honors for his actions in Afghanistan and has since had a post-military career as a public speaker and media executive.
The judgment comes at a time when there is heightened sensitivity around Australia's military due to a 2020 report that said there was credible evidence that members of the special forces killed dozens of unarmed prisoners in Afghanistan, though no soldiers were named in the report.
