Ben Roberts-Smith

Amu: Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated living war veteran, on Friday lost his appeal in a high-profile defamation case stemming from allegations that he unlawfully killed four unarmed Afghans during his military service. A full bench of the Federal Court upheld a 2023 ruling that found the former Special Air Service Regiment corporal was not defamed by a series of 2018 newspaper articles detailing the alleged killings and other war crimes. The articles, published by Nine Entertainment, had accused Roberts-Smith of being involved in six unlawful deaths during his deployments in Afghanistan. Justice Anthony Besanko, who presided over the original case, concluded that the majority of the allegations were “substantially true” to the civil standard of proof, finding Roberts-Smith responsible for four of the deaths. Click here to read more (external link).