Click to expand Image Ben Roberts-Smith departs the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney, June 9, 2021. 2021 Sam Mooy/Getty Images An Australian court has sided with three newspapers in a defamation suit brought by former Australian Special Forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith over coverage of the murders of civilians during the armed conflict in Afghanistan. The case is a victory for public interest journalism and the role it plays in bringing important issues to light. The court found the media outlets had "established substantial or contextual truth of allegations of murders of unarmed civilians in Afghanistan" by Roberts-Smith, who had sued the newspapers for defamation over the coverage of the killings. The verdict puts Australian war crimes investigations back into the spotlight. The media defended their reporting, asserting that it was true. While not a criminal trial, it is the first time a civilian court in Australia has assessed allegations of war crimes committed by a
Click to expand Image Ben Roberts-Smith departs the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney, June 9, 2021. 2021 Sam Mooy/Getty Images An Australian court has sided with three newspapers in a defamation suit brought by former Australian Special Forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith over coverage of the murders of civilians during the armed conflict in Afghanistan. The case is a victory for public interest journalism and the role it plays in bringing important issues to light. The court found the media outlets had "established substantial or contextual truth of allegations of murders of unarmed civilians in Afghanistan" by Roberts-Smith, who had sued the newspapers for defamation over the coverage of the killings. The verdict puts Australian war crimes investigations back into the spotlight. The media defended their reporting, asserting that it was true. While not a criminal trial, it is the first time a civilian court in Australia has assessed allegations of war crimes committed by a
An Australian court has sided with three newspapers in a defamation suit brought by a former Australian Special Forces soldier over coverage of the murders of civilians during the armed conflict in Afghanistan. The case is a victory for public interest journalism and the role it plays in bringing important issues to light.
Governments everywhere should be closely following the recent war crime charge brought against a former Australian soldier. It is a significant development in justice and accountability.