Years after storming a machine-gun nest in an action that earned him the Victoria Cross, Ben Roberts-Smith broke down as he told how he shot an Afghan teenager.
Years after storming a machine-gun nest in an action that earned him the Victoria Cross, Ben Roberts-Smith broke down as he told how he shot an Afghan teenager.
Australia s most decorated soldier is in the witness box in his Federal Court defamation trial against Nine newspapers which he says defamed the 42-year-old by accusing him of war crimes.
Claim about leg pics in Roberts-Smith case Lawyers for Ben Roberts-Smith have made a big claim in court regarding photos of soldiers drinking from a Taliban’s prosthetic leg in a bar in Afghanistan.
News by PERRY DUFFIN 2nd Jun 2021 1:53 PM | Updated: 2:56 PM Lawyers for Ben Roberts-Smith have claimed in court hundreds of images of soldiers drinking out of a prosthetic leg were leaked to the press by the decorated soldier s ex-wife. The high stakes defamation trial of Mr Roberts-Smith will begin next week as he sues Nine newspapers over stories alleging war crimes in Afghanistan. Nine will argue a truth defence.
He said: “Freedom’s always worth it. Australians have always believed that. That’s why Australians who have serviced in our defence forces have always pulled on that uniform.
“Pulling on that uniform and serving under that flag, defending our values and standing up for them is what Australians do and those 41 brave men have exhibited that more than any other Australian can ever hope to.”
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance’s full withdrawal would be completed within months, but did not mention the September 11 anniversary.
Australia’s military legacy in Afghanistan has been tarnished in recent years with allegations of war crimes.