The final witness in the long-running Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case, a senior SAS member, says he never had any personal knowledge of how two Afghan men were killed in a Taliban compound.
Codenamed Person 81, the witness was a troop commander during a deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, when Australian soldiers raided a compound dubbed Whiskey 108.
It's one of the key missions in the Federal Court proceedings, after Mr Roberts-Smith claimed he was defamed by 2018 reports in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times.
The stories contained allegations of unlawful killings, bullying and domestic violence, which the Victoria Cross recipient says are false.
Publisher Nine Entertainment, seeking to establish a truth defence, alleges two men emerged from a secret courtyard tunnel after Whiskey 108 was bombed and searched, before they were taken prisoner and killed unlawfully.
Person 81 has told the court he entered the compound once it was declared secure and did not observe anyone being taken prisoner.
He believed he saw the tunnel and did not see any Afghan men emerge from it.
However, previous soldier witnesses Person 40 and Person 43 have both told the court Person 81 was present when two men surrendered.
Person 81 was shown photographs of the bodies of two men Nine alleges were the locals killed at Whiskey 108.
Barrister Nicholas Owens SC, for Nine, asked the witness whether it was right to say he never had any personal knowledge of how the men came to be killed.
"I'd say that's accurate," Person 81 said.
Mr Owens put Nine's specific case to him; that one of the men was executed by another soldier, Person 4, at the direction of his superior, Person 5.
"I couldn't say," Person 81 said.
He gave the same response when asked about the allegation the second man, who had a prosthetic leg, was shot by Mr Roberts-Smith.
The court heard a patrol debrief, which was cleared for release by Person 81, contained reference to two "squirters", or people attempting to flee the scene, being killed.
Person 81 agreed those details would have been things he was told post-mission.
Later during the cross-examination, Mr Owens again put to Person 81 that the two men found in the tunnel were taken prisoner and executed "without your knowledge or authorisation".
"I wouldn't speculate, from my recollection of events, I couldn't speculate on that," he replied.
Mr Roberts-Smith's barrister, Arthur Moses SC, asked Person 81 whether he saw any conduct by Person 4, Person 5 or Mr Roberts-Smith that caused him suspicion they had taken anyone prisoner or murdered anybody.
"No," he replied.
Mr Roberts-Smith says two men killed that day were legitimately engaged as armed insurgents encountered outside the Whiskey 108 building.
A number of witnesses called by the newspapers have given evidence of seeing a man or men emerge from the tunnel, while several witnesses for Mr Roberts-Smith claimed it contained items including weapons and ammunition, but no people.
The court will hear legal argument about documentary tenders on Friday, then have a break while final submissions are prepared and delivered at a later date.
