Who is Ben Roberts-Smith?

An Australian court began hearing an appeal today, Monday, from a former soldier in the special air service after an unfavorable ruling in a defamation case he filed years ago against newspapers that accused him of committing war crimes in Afghanistan. Ben Roberts-Smith, who was a soldier in the elite Australian Army's "Special Air Service Regiment," sued three Australian newspapers for publishing articles in 2018 that claimed he was involved in the killings of unarmed Afghan detainees. However, the former soldier lost the case in June 2023, where he sought millions of dollars in damages, as the judge concluded that the newspapers had proven their claims to be "largely true." Roberts-Smith (45 years old) attended the first day of the appeal sessions at the Federal Court building in Sydney wearing a formal suit and tie. His lawyers argued that the judge in the initial trial "erred" in his assessment of certain evidence. The new trial is expected to last about two weeks. Roberts-Smith, born in Perth, is Australia's most famous living soldier and was awarded the "Victoria Cross," the highest Australian military honor, for his "bravery" in Afghanistan, particularly during the pursuit of a senior Taliban leader. However, his reputation was tarnished when "The Sydney Morning Herald," "The Canberra Times," and "The Age" published a series of shocking reports claiming that Roberts-Smith engaged in a pattern of criminal and immoral behavior during his service abroad. The newspapers reported that Roberts-Smith kicked an unarmed Afghan civilian off a cliff and ordered his subordinates to shoot him. He was also said to have participated in shooting a man with a prosthetic leg, then brought the leg back to an army bar and used it as a cup to drink with his comrades. The first court ruling implicated Roberts-Smith in the killing of four unarmed Afghan detainees, but he has not been charged criminally in this regard so far.