Krigsveteran förlorar stämning mot tidningar

Benjamin Roberts-Smith (born 1 November 1978) is a former Australian Army soldier found in a civil court to have committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Roberts-Smith was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) in 2011 and the Medal for Gallantry (MG) in 2006 making Roberts-Smith the most highly decorated serving member of the Australian Defence Force. He was also awarded a Commendation for Distinguished Service for leadership as a patrol commander in 2012. Roberts-Smith left the full-time army in 2013 and studied business at the University of Queensland. In 2015, he was appointed deputy general manager of the regional television network Seven Queensland. He was subsequently promoted to general manager of the regional network and of metropolitan station Seven Brisbane. In 2017, Roberts-Smith's actions in Afghanistan came under scrutiny in light of an independent war crimes inquiry into "questions of unlawful conduct concerning (Australia's) Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan".: 5  In November 2018, the Australian Federal Police launched an investigation into Roberts-Smith over allegations he committed war crimes in Afghanistan. With assistance from a legal team hired by Seven Network owner Kerry Stokes, Roberts-Smith commenced defamation proceedings in August 2018 against Nine Entertainment publications The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times, and also named each of the three journalists involved in reporting alleged incidents. The trial commenced in June 2021 in the Federal Court in Sydney.In June 2023, Judge Anthony Besanko dismissed Roberts-Smith's defamation case against the three publications, ruling that it was proven that Roberts-Smith murdered three Afghan men and criminally violated rules of military engagement.