Heston Russell: Witness apologises to ex-commando after he sued ABC

The witness at the center of the case surrounding former special forces commando Heston Russell has now apologized to the ex-soldier.

Mr Russell successfully sued the ABC over stories published in 2020 and 2021 that he claimed made it appear he was under investigation for the shooting of an unarmed prisoner.

The stories that Russell sued, written and produced by journalists Mark Willacy and Josh Robertson, aired on television, radio and online in October 2020 and November 2021.

The Federal Court was told the allegations came from a former US Marine called ‘Josh’ who contacted Willacy about his time in Afghanistan working with Australian soldiers and said he was not a witness but a ‘banger’ heard what he thought was a ‘pop’ on the radio. gunshot.

That Marine, who chose not to be named, has now apologized to Mr Russell, who has been awarded $390,000 in damages by the Federal Court.

“I had no experience with this type of media interaction in the past, and this is a lesson I learned about how my intentions may not have matched the intentions of the people I spoke to,” he said in a statement. 2GB reported.

“I was naive about how everything would play out, and in retrospect should have been much more thoughtful about what was shared.”

The ex-Marine said at the time that he had no plans to ever speak to the media or anyone else about Russell’s unit again.

“I’m sorry that the lesson I learned came at your expense,” he continued.

“I can only imagine the stress it puts on you and the people you care about.”

Russell won his defamation case after Judge Michael Lee found the ABC could not prove that the articles were published in the public interest.

Evidence presented to the court showed that the U.S. Marine told Willacy that his memory was “fuzzy” and that he could not remember all the details of the accusation.

He also couldn’t tell Willacy who specifically was involved, only that it was an Australian group of soldiers.

The former US Marine, who chose not to be named, has now apologized to Mr Russell, who has been awarded $390,000 in damages by the Federal Court.

The first article relied on the evidence of ‘Josh’, while the second article was based on a failed Freedom of Information request about a criminal investigation into the conduct of an Australian commando platoon in Afghanistan in 2012.

Although the articles contained a denial by Mr Russell, he claimed that the use of his name and photo implied that he was involved in the death of an Afghan prisoner.

The legal costs of the case will be announced on Tuesday.

Mr Russell won his defamation case after judge Michael Lee found the ABC could not prove the articles were published in the public interest