One of Australia’s most highly decorated soldiers has been unsuccessful in a legal attempt to overturn shocking court findings that linked him to war crimes during his service in Afghanistan.
In 2018, media outlets uncovered claims that former SAS commando Ben Roberts-Smith was involved in the killing of unarmed Afghan prisoners.
His multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit against three Australian newspapers was rejected in 2023, as a judge determined that the majority of the journalists’ allegations were “substantially true.”
The 46-year-old experienced another hurdle when Australia’s Federal Court dismissed his appeal.
A released summary indicated there was enough evidence to support findings that Mr. Roberts-Smith had “murdered four Afghan men.”
Mr. Roberts-Smith stated that he would now seek to vindicate himself in Australia’s High Court—his final option for legal recourse.
“I continue to assert my innocence and reject these malicious, unfounded allegations,” he told local media in a statement.
“We will promptly pursue a challenge to this ruling in the High Court of Australia.”
In his appeal, Mr. Roberts-Smith contended that the judge “erred” in evaluating certain pieces of evidence.
Born in Perth, Roberts-Smith had been recognized as Australia’s most renowned and distinguished living soldier.
Ben Roberts-Smith (2R) was awarded the Victoria Cross – Australia’s highest military honour
Decorated soldier
He received the Victoria Cross—Australia’s highest military honour—for “conspicuous gallantry” in Afghanistan while searching for a senior Taliban commander.
In a series of reports, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Canberra Times revealed that he participated in the murders of unarmed Afghan prisoners in 2018.
The reports claimed that Mr. Roberts-Smith had kicked an unarmed Afghan civilian off a cliff and ordered his subordinates to shoot him.
He was also alleged to have been involved in the machine-gunning of a man with a prosthetic leg, which was later brought back to an army bar and used as a drinking vessel.
The 2023 court decision ultimately implicated Mr. Roberts-Smith in the murder of four unarmed Afghan prisoners.
Civil court issues, such as defamation, are held to a lower standard of proof than criminal trials.
Mr. Roberts-Smith has not faced any criminal charges.
Australia deployed 39,000 troops to Afghanistan over two decades as part of US and NATO-led operations against the Taliban and other militant groups.
A 2020 military investigation revealed that special forces personnel “unlawfully killed” 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners, uncovering allegations of summary executions, body count competitions, and torture by Australian forces.
