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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Ben Doherty

Ben Roberts-Smith trial: newspapers’ lawyers deny ‘deal’ with witness to ‘steer clear’ of evidence about alleged killing

Ben Roberts-Smith arrives at the federal court in Sydney
Ben Roberts-Smith arrives at the federal court in Sydney for his defamation trial. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Lawyers for the newspapers being sued by Ben Roberts-Smith told one of his former comrades they would “steer clear” of questioning him about an alleged war crime killing he committed in Afghanistan if he agreed to testify about a key murder allegation against Roberts-Smith, it has been claimed in the federal court.

The former SAS soldier, anonymised before court as Person 56, served alongside Roberts-Smith in Afghanistan in 2012.

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