UPDATE - Australian soldier loses defamation suit over alleged Afghanistan war crimes

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT FROM HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP; CHANGES HEADER, DECK

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - A court in Australia on Thursday dismissed a decorated soldier's case against media organizations and three journalists over their coverage of alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

The defamation case was dismissed after Judge Anthony Besanko found that the newspapers had "proven several of the key allegations" of war crimes, including that Ben Roberts-Smith was involved in the killing of multiple unarmed Afghan civilians, Australian Broadcaster ABC reported.

War veteran Ben Roberts-Smith had filed the case against Australian newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Canberra Times and three journalists.

However, Justice Besanko ruled Thursday: “The publisher had established the substantial truth of the imputations linked to allegations of unlawful killings in Afghanistan, and had established the contextual truth of imputations linked to allegations of bullying and domestic violence.”

The Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ) said in a statement that the country's Federal Court heard evidence from 42 witnesses, including three from Afghanistan testified via video link from Kabul in July 2021 after traveling from the country's central province of Uruzgan.

A series of stories was published in 2018 and the case was filed in Federal Court by Victoria Cross recipient Roberts-Smith.

He had rejected the stories and claims by the journalists.

The former serviceman is also accused of domestic violence and bullying a fellow soldier, though his criminal record has been clean so far, according to the ACIJ.

The media stories suggested the veteran soldier committed the war crimes in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.

- Alleged war crimes exposed by investigative journalism

"Today's verdict is a vindication for public interest investigative journalism, which helped bring to light dozens of allegations of war crimes by members of Australian special forces in Afghanistan," the ACIJ said.

Lauding the role of whistle-blowers, survivors and human rights defenders from Afghanistan, the ACIJ said investigative journalists "helped set in motion several processes to reckon with Australia's legacy of military engagement in Afghanistan, ranging from criminal investigations to reform of military education and training on the laws of armed conflict."

"The road to accountability, truth and justice is a long one. This case is an important reminder that we need courageous public interest journalism to help us get there," said Fiona Nelson, legal advocacy director at the ACIJ.

Nelson said the court ruling would be "important in future proceedings relating to war crimes allegations when it comes to the meaningful participation of witnesses and victims from Afghanistan."

Hadi Marifat, executive director at the Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization, said the families of survivors and victims "have a right to full disclosure of the truth and acknowledgement of the harm caused by Australia's military operations."

“Australia's response must be receptive to the needs and priorities of victims," said Marifat.