The Latest Breaking News from Whiskey 108

Ben Roberts-Smith and four key witnesses were not honest or reliable, judge says in full verdict

Justice Anthony Besanko’s 736-page judgment has been released after judge last week dismissed defamation case in favour of Nine newspapers and reporter

The Guardian - AU · Jun 5, 2023

Ben Roberts-Smith: a war hero’s reputation at stake in Australia’s defamation ‘trial of the century’

Extraordinary evidence has been heard over 99 days of hearings, at a cost of A$25m, as the Victoria Cross recipient sues three newspapers over allegations he says falsely portray him as a war criminal for actions in Afghanistan

The Guardian - AU · Jun 3, 2022

Senior SAS officer tells defamation trial he ‘couldn’t speculate’ if Ben Roberts-Smith complicit in alleged Afghan murders

Person 81 tells court he did not observe any conduct by Roberts-Smith and two other soldiers that caused him suspicion they had murdered anyone

The Guardian - AU · Jun 2, 2022

Ben Roberts-Smith defamation witness backs war veteran’s version of events in Afghanistan mission

Former SAS soldier anonymised as Person 35 tells federal court there was no one inside the tunnel at Whiskey 108

The Guardian - AU · Apr 28, 2022

Patrol commander denies colluding on evidence in Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial

Person 5, who was patrol commander at Whiskey 108 raid, tells court two men were lawfully killed in combat outside compound

The Guardian - AU · Apr 22, 2022

Witness tells Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial no people found in tunnel during 2009 raid on Afghan compound

Testimony of ex-SAS commander, called by Roberts-Smith, contradicts previous witnesses called by newspapers about Whiskey 108 operation

The Guardian - AU · Apr 19, 2022

Ben Roberts-Smith machine-gunned Afghan with prosthetic leg as ‘an exhibition execution’, witness alleges

Roberts-Smith ‘wanted people to see he was going to kill someone’, former comrade tells defamation trial during cross-examination

The Guardian - AU · Mar 15, 2022

Former SAS soldier tells court he watched Ben Roberts-Smith kill unarmed disabled Afghan man

Witness tells defamation trial he saw Roberts-Smith throw a man to the ground and shoot him in the back with a machine gun outside Whiskey 108 compound

The Guardian - AU · Mar 14, 2022

Former SAS soldier tells court he witnessed Ben Roberts-Smith shoot man in back outside Taliban compound

A former elite soldier codenamed Person 24 says he saw the Victoria Cross recipient carry a man out of a compound in Afghanistan before shooting him.

ABC News · Mar 14, 2022

Tunnel vision: why the Ben Roberts-Smith trial could turn on a tiny secret crawlspace in an Afghan village

For all the complexity of this defamation case, a simple point will be a crucial one: were there any people in the tunnel at Whiskey 108?

The Guardian - AU · Mar 11, 2022