Ben Roberts-Smith machine-gunned an Afghan prisoner to death as an “exhibition execution”, a comrade has told the federal court during cross-examination.
“He wanted people to see he was going to kill someone out there in front of everyone,” the former SAS soldier, anonymised before court as Person 24, testified during a combative, and at times emotional, second day in the witness box.
Roberts-Smith is suing the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times for defamation over reports he alleges portray him as committing war crimes, including murder.
The newspapers are pleading a defence of truth. Roberts-Smith denies all wrongdoing.
Person 24 told the court on Monday that he witnessed Roberts-Smith carry an Afghan man – whom he later discovered had a prosthetic left leg – outside of a village compound being raided by Australian troops.
“Mr Roberts-Smith walked out of the compound … at this stage he was holding a man in his hand, it appeared he [the man] had come off the ground, he was being held by his pants or back of the shirt.
“He [Roberts-Smith] marched about 15 metres directly out – he dropped the man on to the ground – and immediately put a machine-gun burst into his back.”
Person 24 said the machine-gun burst was “eight to 10 rounds” and told the court he said to a comrade standing next to him, “did we just witness an execution?”.
The compound, codenamed Whiskey 108, was being “cleared” by Australian SAS troops, in the village of Kakarak, in Afghanistan’s southern Uruzgan province, in the late afternoon of 12 April 2009.
Person 24 is the third Australian soldier to give similar – though not identical – evidence they saw an Australian soldier shoot the man with the prosthetic leg outside Whiskey 108, and the second witness to identify Roberts-Smith as the soldier allegedly responsible. He told the court he saw the soldier side-on from a distance of 20 metres, and while he did not see his face, he identified Roberts-Smith by his size, gait and “physical demeanour”.
Other soldiers have given evidence they saw a man with a prosthetic leg, who was discovered hiding in a secret tunnel inside the compound, taken into the custody of Australian troops before being “marched off” by Roberts-Smith.
Roberts-Smith does not dispute he shot and killed the man with the prosthetic leg but says the man was legitimately engaged in battle.
Roberts-Smith was extensively questioned about the Whiskey 108 mission when he gave evidence in this trial last year: he said he saw the man carrying a weapon and running, and killed him in accordance with troops’ rules of engagement.
“He had his hand over the top of the weapon, because he was carrying it down next to his body like that … hunched over, as in, running like that with his shoulders down.”
The dead man’s prosthetic leg was souvenired by another soldier and taken back to the Australian base in Tarin Kowt and used as a macabre celebratory drinking vessel at the SAS troops’ unofficial bar, the Fat Ladies Arms. The court has been shown photographs of soldiers drinking from the leg. Roberts-Smith was not pictured drinking from the leg and denies doing so.
On Tuesday, Person 24, subpoenaed by the newspapers, was cross-examined over the truth of his evidence, and his motivation for giving it.
He told the court, “I’m compelled here to tell the truth”, and that he didn’t believe Roberts-Smith was trying to hide his killing of the man with the prosthetic leg.
“I think it was an exhibition execution,” he told the court. “He wanted people to see he was going to kill someone out there in front of everyone.”
Person 24 has told the court he resented being forced to give evidence against Roberts-Smith.
On Monday he said he “didn’t agree with the agenda” of a faction within the SAS that sought to destroy Roberts-Smith’s reputation and decorated service record.
“I still don’t agree with the fact BRS [Roberts-Smith] is here, under extreme duress, for killing bad dudes we went there to kill.”
On Tuesday, he broke down as he was repeatedly questioned about the truth of his evidence. Arthur Moses SC, acting for Roberts-Smith, repeatedly put it to him he had fabricated his evidence and had come to court to “tell a story”.
“I am not telling any lies, your honour,” he told the court. “I am not making this up. I don’t want to be here, I’m here because I was subpoenaed.
“I find it extremely difficult to stomach that having to give evidence against that man in the corner,” referencing Roberts-Smith, who has watched the trial from the same corner seat every day.
Moses again put it to Person 24 that he was lying and had confected his evidence before the court.
“You can put whatever you like to me,” Person 24 said. “I’m just giving my evidence, I just saw it happen on the ground.
“I know it’s your job to discredit me,” he said to Moses.
The court also heard evidence about the alleged “blooding” of a new soldier in the regiment – anonymised before court as Person 4. “‘Blooding’ refers to initiating a person in the practice of killing, or giving them the taste for killing,” the newspapers’ defence states.
The newspapers allege and another witness has previously told the court that Person 4, then on his first tour, was ordered to summarily execute a captive elderly Afghan man at Whiskey 108 on the orders of Roberts-Smith.
Person 4 gave evidence earlier in this trial, but objected to answering questions about his actions at Whiskey 108 on grounds of self-incrimination. Justice Anthony Besanko did not compel him to answer.
Person 24 said Person 4 was a friend, and “a great person”.
“And to see how his life has been turned upside down by the time that he spent in the regiment and the people that he spent it with, I find heartbreaking.”
Person 24 has said a senior member of the patrol, identified as Person 5, said before the Whiskey 108 mission that they were going to “blood the rookie”. Person 24 said he understood that to mean Person 4 would be put in a position where he would kill somebody.
The trial continues.
