Decorated Australian war veteran unlawfully killed prisoners in Afghanistan, judge says

By MARK BAKER and ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

SYDNEY (AP) — A judge in a civil case says a decorated Australian veteran unlawfully killed prisoners and committed other war crimes in Afghanistan. The judge dismissed claims by Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith that he was defamed by media that published articles about the allegations in 2018. The proven allegations included that Roberts-Smith killed a prisoner who had a prosthetic leg, which he kept as a drinking vessel. The court also concluded Roberts-Smith had kicked a man off a cliff into a riverbed where an SAS colleague shot him to death in 2012. Roberts-Smith has denied wrongdoing. Several Australian military personnel are under investigation for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.