Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | Federal Court of Australia |
| Decided | 1 June 2023 |
| Citation | [2023] FCA 555 |
| Case history | |
| Subsequent action | Applicant appealed decision |
| Ruling | |
| The proceedings be dismissed | |
| Court membership | |
| Judge sitting | Anthony Besanko |
| Keywords | |
| Defamation | |
Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited was a 2023 decision of the Federal Court of Australia which found that articles written by journalists Nick McKenzie, Chris Masters and David Wroe alleging Victoria Cross for Australia awardee Ben Roberts-Smith committed murder and other war crimes in Afghanistan were not defamatory. Justice Anthony Besanko found, on the balance of probabilities, that the journalists had established the substantial truth or contextual truth of many of the allegations.
The trial ran for 110 days at an estimated cost of A$25,000,000.[1] Roberts-Smith appealed the decision.[2] His final appeal was rejected by the High Court of Australia in 2025.[3]
On 7 April 2026, Roberts-Smith was arrested by the Australian Federal Police at Sydney Airport.[4][5][6] He was subsequently charged with five counts of war crime murder[a] under section 268.70(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (three charges of aid, abet, counsel, or procure an offence, one charge of actual offence and one charge of joint commission to an offence) with a maximum potential sentence of life imprisonment.[8][9][10] He was remanded to the Silverwater Correctional Complex to appear before the online bail court on 8 April.[11] No application for bail was made, and the matter was subsequently adjourned until 4 June.[12]
Born and raised in Western Australia, Roberts-Smith joined the Australian Army in 1996 when he was eighteen. In 2003 he was posted to the Western Australian-based Special Air Service Regiment (SASR). During his time with the SASR, Roberts-Smith deployed to Afghanistan on six occasions. In 2006 he was awarded the Medal for Gallantry for his actions as a patrol scout and sniper.[13]
Roberts-Smith was awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia in 2011 for his actions during Operation Slipper, the Australian contribution to the war in Afghanistan. The citation for his Victoria Cross states Roberts-Smith initiated an assault on an enemy fortification. During the assault, Roberts-Smith "knowingly and willingly exposed his position in order to draw fire" and later "with total disregard for his own safety ... stormed two enemy machine gun positions killing both machine gun teams."[14]
In 2017, allegations arose claiming SASR personnel in Afghanistan committed murder and other war crimes. The Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force commissioned an inquiry into the allegation. The subsequent report – commonly known as the Brereton Report – found evidence of multiple unlawful killings by Australian Defence Force personnel between 2009 and 2013.[15]
Articles
In 2018, Australian journalists Nick McKenzie, Chris Masters and David Wroe named Roberts-Smith as one of the persons alleged to have committed war crimes in Afghanistan.[16]
Findings
The Court found the following inferences regarding Roberts-Smith substantially true:[17][b]
- He is a criminal who broke the moral and legal rules of military engagement.
- He murdered an Afghan man by kicking him off a cliff and then directing men under his command to shoot him.
- In order to "blood" a new soldier under his command, he forced the soldier to kill an unarmed Afghan man.
- He murdered a man with a prosthetic leg with a machine gun. He then took the leg as a war trophy and encouraged other soldiers to use it as a drinking vessel.
- He authorised the execution of an unarmed Afghan by another soldier.
- He assaulted other unarmed Afghans on multiple occasions.
- He bullied a fellow soldier, including threatening violence.
