Ben Roberts-Smith

Ben Roberts-Smith
Roberts-Smith in 2015
Born (1978-11-01) 1 November 1978 (age 46)
Perth, Western Australia
AllegianceAustralia
Service / branchAustralian Army (1996–2013)
Australian Army Reserve (2013–2015)
Years of service1996–2015
RankCorporal
Unit3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1997–2003)
Special Air Service Regiment (2003–2013)
Battles / warsInternational Force East Timor
War in Afghanistan
Iraq War
AwardsVictoria Cross for Australia
Medal for Gallantry
Commendation for Distinguished Service
Spouse(s)
  • Emma Groom
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2003; div. 2020)​
Relations
Other workChairman of the National Australia Day Council (2014–2017)
General manager of Seven Queensland (2015–2023)

Benjamin Roberts-Smith VC, MG (born 1 November 1978) is an Australian former soldier[1] who, in a civil defamation trial in 2023 he initiated in the Federal Court of Australia, was found to have committed war crimes (including murder) in Afghanistan during 2009, 2010 and 2012.[2][3][4][5] An appeal to a Full Court of the Federal Court, comprising three judges, commenced on 5 February 2024.[6][7][8]

Roberts-Smith was awarded a Medal for Gallantry in 2006, the Victoria Cross for Australia in 2011, and a Commendation for Distinguished Service in 2012.[9][10] After discharge from the Australian Army in 2013, he was granted a scholarship to study business at the University of Queensland. In 2015, he was appointed deputy general manager of the regional television network Seven Queensland and later, general manager of Seven Brisbane until temporarily stepping down in 2021 to focus on his defamation action against Nine Entertainment. Following the defamation outcome in 2023, Roberts-Smith resigned from Seven West Media.[11]

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".[12] In November 2018, the Australian Federal Police launched an investigation into Roberts-Smith over allegations he committed war crimes in Afghanistan.[13]

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 against The Canberra Times, and also named each of the three journalists involved in reporting alleged acts of bullying and war crimes committed by him.[14]

The civil trial commenced in June 2021 in the Federal Court in Sydney.[15] The media outlets mounted a defence which required them to prove the truth of their claims based on the civil standard of proof, on the balance of probabilities, applying the Briginshaw principle.[16] In June 2023, Justice Anthony Besanko dismissed Roberts-Smith's defamation case against the three publications, ruling that it was proven to the standard required in Australian defamation law that Roberts-Smith murdered four Afghans and had broken the rules of military engagement.[16][17][18]

  1. ^ "Australian soldier Ben Roberts-Smith 'complicit in murder': Judge". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  2. ^ Alexander, Michaela Whitbourn, Harriet (1 June 2023). "Former SAS soldier committed war crimes". The Age. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Benns, Matthew; Tonkin, Shannon (1 July 2023). "Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial: Murderer, war criminal: Judge throws out BRS defamation case". The Advertiser. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  4. ^ Middleton, Karen (10 June 2023). "Exclusive: More soldiers willing to testify against Ben Roberts-Smith". The Saturday Paper. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  5. ^ Housden, Tom; Turnbull, Tiffanie (2 June 2023). "Ben Roberts-Smith case: Will Australia see a war crimes reckoning?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  6. ^ McKinnell, Jamie (11 July 2023). "Ben Roberts-Smith to appeal after losing landmark defamation case". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  7. ^ Pelly, Michael (14 July 2023). "Now it's Ben Roberts-Smith v Justice Anthony Besanko". Australian Financial Review. Nine Entertainment. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  8. ^ Whitbourn, Michaela (5 February 2024). "Roberts-Smith fronts court as million-dollar defamation appeal starts". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  9. ^ Dodd, Mark (21 January 2010). "Second SAS Afghan Victoria Cross for heroic charge". The Australian. Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  10. ^ Parkes-Hupton, Heath (2 June 2023). "From 'Australian hero' to 'disgracing' his country — Ben Roberts-Smith's fall from grace". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  11. ^ Meade, Amanda (2 June 2023). "Ben Roberts-Smith resigns from Seven after losing defamation fight against Nine". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  12. ^ Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry Report (PDF). Australia: Department of Defence. 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference McKenzie-2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Simone Fox Koob (17 August 2018). "Ben Roberts-Smith files defamation proceedings against Fairfax". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jamie McKinnell-2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Whitbourn-2023-2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Whitbourn-2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference Yong-2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).