Australia’s decorated soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has lost a defamation case against three newspapers that accused him of war crimes in Afghanistan. The judge ruled that four of the six murder allegations were substantially true, including kicking a farmer off a cliff and shooting a captured Taliban fighter multiple times. While two murder allegations and reports of assault and threats were not proven, additional allegations of unlawful assault and bullying were found to be true. The case shed light on potential misconduct and a “code of silence” within Australia’s elite special forces. The verdict raises questions about Australian forces’ actions in Afghanistan and may be a precursor to further war crimes investigations.
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