Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated living war veteran, has lost a major defamation appeal, further entrenching allegations that he murdered four unarmed Afghan men during his deployment in Afghanistan.
On May 16, 2025, the Federal Court of Australia unanimously dismissed Roberts-Smith’s appeal of a 2023 ruling that found he was not defamed by 2018 media reports accusing him of multiple war crimes.
📜 The ruling upholds findings that Roberts-Smith was responsible for four unlawful killings during his time in the elite Special Air Service (SAS) regiment.
National Security Limits Full Disclosure
Justice Nye Perram, delivering the court’s verdict, said the reasons for the decision were being withheld due to national security considerations.
The legal battle, which included a 110-day trial, is estimated to have cost around AU$25 million (US$16 million). Roberts-Smith may now be liable for these costs.
Roberts-Smith Maintains Innocence
Despite the court defeat, the 46-year-old former corporal vowed to continue the fight:
“I continue to maintain my innocence and deny these egregious, spiteful allegations,” Roberts-Smith said in a statement.
“We will immediately seek to challenge this judgement in the High Court of Australia.”
Media, Journalism Celebrated the Verdict
Tory Maguire, an executive from Nine Entertainment (publisher of The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Canberra Times), hailed the outcome:
“Today is also a great day for investigative journalism… an emphatic win.”
The original articles accused Roberts-Smith of:
- Kicking an unarmed Afghan man off a cliff, then ordering him shot.
- Participating in the machine-gunning of a man with a prosthetic leg, later used as a bar trophy.
Background: Australia’s War Crimes Legacy in Afghanistan
Australia sent 39,000 troops to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021 as part of the U.S.-led NATO coalition.
In 2020, a government inquiry found 39 unlawful killings by Australian troops and recommended 19 soldiers for criminal investigation. Although Roberts-Smith was not officially named, his actions were spotlighted in media exposés and civil court.
🕵️♂️ An Office of the Special Investigator is building criminal cases against former SAS and Commando Regiment members active between 2005 and 2016.
