A former elite soldier who testified that Ben Roberts-Smith punched him in the face and staged a mock execution of a prisoner is a liar and a fantasist trying to justify his own failures, the war hero’s lawyer has told a court.
The man – codenamed Person 10 – gave evidence over two days in a defamation lawsuit launched by Mr Roberts-Smith over articles claiming he committed war crimes and bullied colleagues.
Mr Roberts-Smith denies the allegations, published by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times, which they are defending as true.
Person 10 has told the Federal Court that Mr Roberts-Smith, his patrol commander, punched him in the face in front of colleagues after a 2012 mission in Afghanistan’s Chora Valley.
The junior trooper admits he had mistakenly fired in the direction of a woman and child, but contests the accusation he also panicked and began spraying bullets in the direction of nearby colleagues is “simply false”.
The newspapers Mr Roberts-Smith is suing for defamation allege the accusation was made to distract from the fact the mission the decorated war hero had planned was a failure and nearly fatal.
After the incident, Person 10 says Mr Roberts-Smith phoned him warning he would “f*** you up” if he complained about the punch.
He also threatened to report Person 10 to the International Criminal Court for firing at the woman and child if he did not submit an incident report that matched his, he told the court.
Mr Roberts-Smith’s barrister, Arthur Moses, argued the punch was a response to Person 10 giggling when the Victoria Cross recipient questioned him about the serious incident, and said both of the subsequent threats were made up.
Person 10 was soon moved to another patrol, where he slumped into a depression and his performance in the defence force plummeted.
Upon returning to Australia he was removed from the regiment, and was soon medically discharged from the defence force.
Person 10 has told the court Mr Roberts-Smith also ordered him to mock execute a colleague pretending to be an Afghan prisoner – bound and on his knees – at a pre-deployment training exercise.
That was also false evidence, Mr Moses suggested.
Person 10 admitted he knew the man pretending to be the prisoner could not recall the alleged incident, but denied he called him to see if he would support the “false testimony”.
“This story… is a fantasy that you’ve concocted… in order to besmirch the reputation of Mr Roberts-Smith… you feel you had to come here to back it up… or you’d be exposed as a liar and a fantasist,” Mr Moses said.
“Incorrect,” Person 10 replied.
He was lying in his evidence because he was embarrassed about his performance as a soldier and refused to take responsibility for it, Mr Moses said.
Person 10 had an alcohol problem at the time, lacked maturity and tactical skills, Mr Moses said, referencing performance reports and an incident in Kabul when he was so drunk he took a woman’s phone and took photos of his penis.
And Person 10 still refuses to take responsibility for his actions, Mr Moses argued, pointing to his insistence he did not make an error during the Chora Valley mission.
“You’ve never come to grips with the fact that you are a failed SASR soldier.”
“I have Mr Moses, I’ve moved on,” Person 10 replied
Person 10 told the court he accepted responsibility for mistakes and poor performance.
“I hold nothing against Mr Roberts-Smith,” he said on Thursday.
The trial continues on Monday.
