Australian soldier loses war crimes defamation case

A contentious trial filled with allegations of murder, domestic violence, witness intimidation and war crimes saw one of Australia's most decorated soldiers lose a landmark defamation case against major newspapers on Thursday.

Ben Roberts-Smith, a former member of Australia's elite Special Air Services (SAS) regiment, had sued three newspapers — the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age, and the Canberra Times — over reports published in 2018 that alleged his involvement in the unlawful killing of six unarmed prisoners in Afghanistan. 

The reports had painted the former special forces corporal as someone who violated the moral and legal rules of military engagement, he claimed.

The Australian court dismissed the case saying the newspapers had substantiated many of their allegations as "substantially true."

The Taliban group, the Islamist de facto ruler of Afghanistan before the 2001 US invasion as well as since August 2021, said the incidents investigated by the Australian court were all but a "small part" of the many alleged crimes which took place during the 20-year war.

The group's administration spokesman Bilal Karimi was cited by the Reuters news agency as saying foreign forces had committed "uncountable crimes" throughout the war. He added that the group did not trust any court globally to follow up all crimes.

Authorities look into illegal conduct by soldiers

In March, Australian police charged the first veteran in connection with an alleged killing in Afghanistan, following the Brereton investigation that identified potential illegal conduct by 19 Australian special forces soldiers during the conflict. 

Oliver Schulz, a former SAS trooper, faced a murder charge for the death of an Afghan individual shot in the Uruzgan province in 2012.

The Australian police, in collaboration with the Office of the Special Investigator established in 2021, are actively working to build cases against elite SAS and Commando Regiment troops who served in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2016.

Over the course of 20 years, more than 39,000 Australian military personnel served in Afghanistan until the withdrawal in 2021, with 41 casualties suffered during the mission.

US fear SAS 'tainted' 

The United States had previously cautioned that allegations of war crimes against Australian soldiers in Afghanistan could hinder cooperation with Australia's Special Air Service Regiment. 

General Angus Campbell, Australia's defense force chief, revealed that he had received a letter in March 2021 from the US defense attaché in Canberra, suggesting that the elite SAS may have been "tainted" by the war crime allegations highlighted in the Brereton report. 

The report contained "credible information" indicating that Australian soldiers had unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners and civilians, the letter said. 

It also warned that these allegations could trigger a US law that prohibits military collaboration with units associated with grave human rights violations.
 

ss/kb (Reuters, AFP)