FILE - Australian war hero Ben Roberts-Smith arrives at the Federal Court in Sydney on June 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)
RRMELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s highest court on Thursday removed the last chance for highly decorated veteran Ben Roberts-Smith to clear his name of findings that he unlawfully killed four unarmed Afghans under Australian soldiers' control more than a decade ago.
The High Court said it would not hear his appeal against a federal in 2023 that Roberts-Smith likely killed noncombatants unlawfully in 2009 and 2012.
Three federal court judges had unanimously against that finding in May.
The High Court decision leaves Australia’s most decorated living war veteran with no more legal options in a defamation case he started in 2018 when newspapers accused him of a range of war crimes.
Roberts-Smith, who was awarded both the Victoria Cross and Medal of Gallantry for his service in Afghanistan, has never faced criminal charges, which must be proven to a higher standard of guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
One of Roberts-Smith’s former Special Air Service Regiment comrades, , is the only Australian veteran of the Afghanistan campaign to be charged with a war crime.
Schultz was charged in 2023 with murdering an unarmed civilian in 2012. Schulz has pleaded not guilty and has yet to stand trial.
The only Australian veteran to be convicted over war crime allegations in Afghanistan has been army whistleblower .
The former army lawyer was sentenced last year to five years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to charges associated with leaking allegations of war crimes to the media.
Classified documents provided by McBride became the source of a series of Australian Broadcasting Corp. reports in 2017 called the “Afghan Files.†The reports detailed allegations against Australian soldiers including the unlawful killing of men and children.
A released in 2020 recommended 19 current and former soldiers face criminal investigations over 39 unlawful killings in Afghanistan.
°µÍø½ûÇø. All rights reserved.
“We should be the Taylor Swift of financial institutions.â€
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
