Australian soldier Ben Roberts-Smith loses war crimes suit

Journalists Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters, who reported on the soldier's alleged war crimes, spoke outside the Federal Court, in Sydney after the decision [AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts via Reuters]

An Australian court has found that Ben Roberts-Smith, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery, probably killed unarmed civilians in Afghanistan as three newspapers reported in 2018.

Roberts-Smith, a former soldier with the elite Special Air Services Regiment (SASR), sued the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Canberra Times for defamation after they reported he had murdered Afghans during multiple deployments to the country.