Ben Roberts-Smith spotted for first time since losing defamation trial over war crimes allegations
Ben Roberts-Smith is spotted boarding an international flight with his girlfriend since he lost his defamation ‘trial of the century’ over war crimes charges
- A disgraced ex-soldier has been spotted in New Zealand
- Ben Roberts-Smith got a flight back to Australia
Disgraced ex-soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has been spotted for the first time since he lost his major libel case.
Australia’s most decorated living soldier was spotted at New Zealand’s Queenstown Airport on Wednesday as he boarded a flight to Australia.
The sighting comes 10 days after Mr Roberts-Smith lost his defamation suit against The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times.
He had been seen in Bali the day before the verdict was passed.
Justice Anthony Besanko ruled that the allegations against Mr Roberts-Smith, including war crimes and murders, had been proven by a civil standard of probabilities.
Disgraced ex-soldier Ben Roberts-Smith (pictured) has been spotted for the first time since he lost his major defamation case
The sighting comes 10 days after Mr Roberts-Smith (pictured) lost his libel action against The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times
He has not been criminally charged.
Following the findings, many have called for Mr Roberts-Smith to be stripped of his medals, including the Victoria Cross, and for the record of him to be removed from the Australian War Memorial.
Meanwhile, former SAS captain and federal Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, who testified against Mr Roberts-Smith at the defamation trial, has broken his silence on the outcome.
He said he felt sadness and relief at the find.
“Grief for the lost Afghan lives and the families injured, for the broken relationships and for the destroyed reputations, both individually and on an institutional level, especially with the SASR (Special Air Service Regiment),” he told the ABC.
“But relief that the stark truth that many of the regiment have been carrying for years is now in the public domain and validated by a federal court judge.”
Mr Hastie, who is now the opposition defense spokesman, praised the soldiers who made the claims.
“They have shown moral courage. They’ve been brave,’ he said.
Former SAS captain and federal Liberal MP Andrew Hastie (pictured), who testified against Mr Roberts-Smith at the defamation trial, has broken his silence
‘I honor their work, because it is they who have shown that the regiment has a moral impulse, which the regiment can correct itself.
“And it is they who have rejected the toxic culture and behavior.”
The Brereton Inquiry into Alleged War Crimes in Afghanistan, which released its report in 2021, found credible evidence that 39 Afghan civilians were killed by Australian special forces during the war.
It identified 25 current or former Australian Defense Force personnel as alleged perpetrators, either as principals or accomplices.