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Decorated Australian veteran loses his defamation appeal over killings in Afghanistan

  • Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most decorated living war veteran, lost his appeal against a 2023 civil court ruling in Sydney on Friday.
  • The appeal challenged a defamation judgment that found Roberts-Smith unlawfully killed four Afghan prisoners, after newspaper articles published in 2018 made war crime allegations.
  • A panel of three federal judges upheld Justice Besanko’s 2023 decision, confirming that the allegations were proven substantially true under the civil standard and dismissing the appeal.
  • The ruling stated Roberts-Smith killed four of six unlawfully killed Afghans, though he has not faced criminal charges, which require proof beyond reasonable doubt.
  • Roberts-Smith plans to seek a High Court appeal, while calls emerge from his SAS peers to strip him of his Victoria Cross for gallantry in Afghanistan.
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Cairns News broke the news in on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.
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