A victory for press freedom in Australia. A renowned soldier lost his defamation lawsuit on Thursday (June 1st) against newspapers that had accused him of murder and war crimes in Afghanistan.

Ben Roberts-Smith, a former member of the elite Special Air Service (SAS), sued for defamation after three newspapers published articles in 2018 accusing him of taking part in the murder of six unarmed prisoners in Afghanistan. The soldier, who has always denied these allegations, had filed a defamation suit and was seeking several million dollars in damages.

Judge Anthony Beskano said the newspapers had proven that most of their allegations were "true". The ruling was hailed as a major victory for press freedom in Australia.

Ben Roberts-Smith, born in Perth, was before this trial Australia's best-known soldier and the one who received the most military honours.

He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his "remarkable courage" in Afghanistan, where his unit was tasked with tracking down a senior Taliban commander. But The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times claimed that behind this "hero" was a soldier who committed crimes.

One of Australia's longest defamation lawsuits

According to the newspapers, he threw an unarmed Afghan civilian off a cliff and ordered his subordinates to shoot him. He also allegedly took part in the strafing of a man with a prosthetic leg, which he had recovered and which he gladly displayed when he had drinks with other soldiers, back in Australia.

The imposing veteran was also accused of abusing a woman at a Canberra hotel and engaging in a "campaign of intimidation" against another soldier, which the judgment said had not been fully proven.

Newspapers and reporting authors stood by their claims throughout the trial.

The case became one of Australia's longest defamation trials, with 40 witnesses taking the stand, delivering often poignant testimony about the conduct of Australian special forces.

Australian media estimated the legal costs at $16 million, making it one of the most expensive defamation lawsuits in the country's history. The newspapers' lawyers said they would seek "compensation costs from the applicant".

Ben Roberts-Smith was not present at the sentencing. He had been photographed on holiday in Bali a few days earlier.

With AFP

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