Trial of the century will reveal EXACTLY what Australian soldiers really got up to in Afghanistan
8 Jun, 2021 20:07
"Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case in Sydney has it all – it’s a battle between two media giants, an extension of the culture wars and, crucially, a chance to learn more about Australian forces’ misconduct in Afghanistan. The eyes of Australia are on an important defamation trial which got under way in the Federal Court in Sydney on Monday. The trial, which is to be heard by a judge alone without a jury, has been described in the media as “the defamation case of the century.”
That may be something of an exaggeration, but its outcome will no doubt have serious consequences for the reputation of Australia’s armed forces, the media landscape in the country, and the culture wars more generally.
The plaintiff is Ben Roberts-Smith, a 42-year-old Australian war hero who was awarded the Victoria Cross and the Medal for Gallantry for his military service with the Special Air Service Regiment in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2012.
The Victoria Cross is Australia’s highest military honour and is awarded for “conspicuous bravery in the field.” Roberts-Smith won his for his part in an attack on a Taliban stronghold, and his bravery and courage under fire are not in dispute.
Roberts-Smith is suing The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, and the Canberra Times newspapers over a series of articles in 2018 that accused him of committing six unlawful killings while serving in Afghanistan. The alleged victims include a disabled man and a child. At the time of publication, all three papers were owned by Nine Entertainment.
The defendants have raised a defence of truth, and propose to call Australian soldiers who served with Roberts-Smith in Afghanistan and other witnesses to testify that the plaintiff committed these atrocities.
Understandably, the Roberts-Smith defamation action has attracted a great deal of publicity and commentary. The plaintiff is Australia’s most highly decorated living soldier, and the son of a former Western Australian Supreme Court judge. After leaving the army in 2013, Roberts-Smith became general manager of Seven Queensland, part of Seven West Media in Brisbane – a commercial rival of the media conglomerate that published the articles he has sued on.
Seven West Media is controlled by billionaire media tycoon Kerry Stokes, who is also coincidentally chairman of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra – the national institution established in 1941 to commemorate and honour the members of Australia’s armed forces (living and dead) who participated in wars."
Trial of the century will reveal EXACTLY what Australian soldiers really got up to in Afghanistan — RT Op-ed