Ben Roberts-Smith: Top Australian soldier won’t apologise for alleged war crimes in landmark ruling 

Top Australian soldier won’t apologise for alleged war crimes

In his first public statement, since a judge upheld allegations of war crimes against him, former Australian solider Ben Roberts-Smith, 44, expressed pride in his actions during his service in Afghanistan.

The landmark defamation case concluded Roberts-Smith was responsible for the killing of four Afghan individuals. 

Roberts-Smith maintains his innocence and is considering appealing the verdict. “I’m devastated… It’s a terrible outcome and it’s the incorrect outcome,” he stated on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters from Nine he said he won’t apologise to those affected by his alleged crimes. “We haven’t done anything wrong, so we won’t be making any apologies,” he said.

Roberts-Smith had sued three Australian newspapers over a series of articles that accused him of unlawful killings and mistreatment of fellow soldiers during his deployment in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. 

The judge dismissed the former soldier’s case against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Canberra Times, ruling that it was “substantially true” that Roberts-Smith had committed the acts of murdering unarmed Afghan prisoners and civilians, as well as bullying his peers.

Roberts-Smith has not faced criminal charges for any of the allegations and a criminal court requires a higher burden of proof. The evidence presented in the civil case against him cannot be used in any potential criminal proceedings.