WAR CRIMES - Afghanistan * Ben Roberts Smith files an appeal

[Kurve]

19 Nov 202011.13 AEDT

Brereton report finds alleged unlawful killing of 39 people.​

Justice Brereton considered in a detailed 57 allegations of incidents and issues.

Campbell says he found there to be “credible information to substantiate 23 incidents of alleged unlawful killing of 39 people by 25 Australian Special Forces personnel, predominantly from the Special Air Service Regiment”.

Link to Ben Roberts Smith defamation JUDGEMENT SUMMARY and FULL JUDGEMENT in pdf

 

[Kurve]

Mr Roberts-Smith was thrust into the national spotlight in 2011 when he was awarded the Victoria Cross — Australia’s highest military honour — for bravery under fire in Afghanistan.

In 2013 he was named Australian Father of the Year, and in 2015 he was appointed chair of the Australia Day council.

In 2016, he was appointed general manager of the Seven Network in Queensland.

Mr Roberts-Smith, who is Australia’s most highly decorated soldier as a recipient of the Victoria Cross and a Medal of Gallantry, served in Afghanistan on six deployments between 2006 and 2012.

His service in the Middle Eastern country first came under scrutiny last year after journalist Chris Masters’ book No Front Lines raised questions about an incident he and another soldier were involved in in 2006, which involved the death of a Taliban “spotter”.

-

AUSTRALIA’S most decorated soldier Ben Roberts-Smith, VC, has responded to allegations referred to police involving domestic violence, saying they are “a catalogue of lies”.

The Australian reports Mr Roberts-Smith has also described the story as “fabrications and misrepresentations’’.

“It is the culmination of many months of malicious and highly damaging allegations, all of which will be vigorously defended,’’ Mr Roberts Smith said.

“I do want to say today that I unequivocally deny any physical abuse of any woman at any time ever, and that I have not at any stage been interviewed by Police about any purported complaint by any woman.’’

His denial comes after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that the allegations about him will be dealt with appropriately.

Mr Roberts-Smith is under investigation over incidents in Canberra and also with the special forces in Afghanistan, according to Fairfax Media reports.

One of the incidents was an alleged act of domestic violence and intimidation against a woman that Mr Roberts-Smith was reportedly conducting an affair with while they were in Canberra in 2016.

The woman reportedly took the allegations to the police.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news...h/news-story/04b526a3ebc9b2d72c2144a0b5d9eeee

He was appointed chairman of the Australia Day Council, the deputy chairman of the Prime Minister's defence mental health committee and veterans' employment committee. He became the public face of a campaign against "one punch" violence and the "Stay Kind" campaign, which urges Australians to look after vulnerable mates.

He helped select domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty as an Australian of the Year. The award ceremony produced an evocative image of the 196-centimetre warrior gently comforting a tearful Batty.

 

[BlueE]

That is damning.

I understand why you couldn't paste any of the piece in here to grab the main points in one or two paragraphs, there's too much. It needs to be read in it's entirety.

I agree you need to read it all then still hard to believe. Three renowned investigative journalists and without repeating what may be the most serious allegation mentioned on this thread.

They seem to be able to back up their claims although everything is denied and these pesky emails and threats to the people making them!

 

[Kurve]

I agree you need to read it all then still hard to believe. Three renowned investigative journalists and without repeating what may be the most serious allegation mentioned on this thread.

They seen to be able to back up their claims although everything is denied and these pesky emails and threats to the people making them!

Another train of thought, it wasn't enough to give him a chest full of war medals, they've given him so many extras outside of military service I think it's too much. He's being exploited. Let soldiers be soldiers, most have a hard time fitting back into civilian life this guy's been pushed forward they expect him to lead there as well. Bizarre imo he's been posted on DV councils, One Punch and Stay Kind campaign as an elite assassin.

This is our upside down world.

 

[Kurve]

I was thinking the issue of Roberts-Smith has become so politically charged it may be better suited to another thread that's just opened up off this board but in allegations of crime, will keep it here unless anyone else thinks it should be moved ..?

 

[Kurve]

Afgahnis have submitted 1.17 million war crimes claims to the international court in three months.

The statements include accounts of alleged atrocities. not only by groups like the Taliban and the Isis, but also Afghan Security Forces and government-affiliated warlords, the US-led coalition, and foreign and domestic spy agencies, said Abdul Wadood Pedram of the Human Rights and Eradication of Violence Organisation.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ns-submitted-court-isis-taliban-a8214301.html

 

[BlueE]

I was thinking the issue of Roberts-Smith has become so politically charged it may be better suited to another thread that's just opened up off this board but in allegations of crime, will keep it here unless anyone else thinks it should be moved ..?

Who knew Big Footy has a Politics and Society thread?

Think it might be best co-habiting here as there are legal inquiries whether crimes were committed and now Ben RS wants Feds to investigate SAS who testified against him and is suing Fairfax newspapers.

VICTORIA Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith wants the Australian Federal Police to investigate fellow special forces soldiers who may have leaked evidence from a defence inquiry relating to his conduct in Afghanistan.

Lawyers acting for Corporal Roberts-Smith today wrote to federal Attorney-General Christian Porter asking him to refer a series of Fairfax Media articles to the AFP “for a criminal investigation and, where applicable, prosecution”.

He said he would commence defamation proceedings against Fairfax Media.

https://www.news.com.au/national/co...s/news-story/155fabcba18dec15a80ba9ad4b4da817

https://www.smh.com.au/national/dec...to-refer-leaks-to-police-20180812-p4zx1n.html

By the way he said he was separated from his wife when he took the lawyer to the function when she made a domestic violence complaint and now he's back with his wife.

 

[GreyCrow]

Ahh the old ' I dont deny the allegations but they shouldnt have been made public' defence

 

[Kurve]

Think it might be best co-habiting here as there are legal inquiries whether crimes were committed and now Ben RS wants Feds to investigate SAS who testified against him and is suing Fairfax newspapers.

Okay, cool. If you want to have a look at the wider discuss on political elements and mores it's here, quite a good thread imo: https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/thre...-of-bad-behavior.1201616/page-2#post-57329110

 

[BlueE]

Mr Roberts-Smith's powerful portrait was one of 20 unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra on Thursday night (18th Oct) as part of the celebration of the gallery's 20th anniversary.

 

[BlueE]

Roberts-Smith is suing Fairfax media and the three journalists involved in making claims of war crimes about him.

Fairfax is defending defamation claims.

Fairfax Media says it did not defame Australia's most decorated soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, in a series of reports questioning the actions of Australian special forces soldiers during the war in Afghanistan.

But if the Federal Court accepts he has been defamed, Fairfax says it can prove the truth of a series of allegations he claims the publisher made against him, including claims of war crimes and domestic violence.
...
In support of its truth defence, Fairfax alleges Mr Roberts-Smith was involved in six unlawful killings in Afghanistan, including an alleged incident in 2012 in which he kicked Ali Jan, an unarmed and handcuffed Afghan man, off a cliff before directing a soldier under his command to shoot him.

The defence says each of the killings contravened the Geneva Convention, which is intended to protect civilians and detainees in war zones, and therefore constitute murder.

Fairfax also alleges Mr Roberts-Smith was involved in five assaults, three involving unarmed Afghan men and two involving colleagues, as well as bullying two colleagues and assaulting an unnamed woman with whom he was having an extra-marital affair.
...
Mr Roberts-Smith has strenuously denied the allegations and said the defence filed by Fairfax "goes well beyond what was actually written in its original stories" and "adds damaging new claims, clearly intended for media consumption, that are demonstrably different from what was originally alleged in its original publication".

"I believe Fairfax has done this to blacken my reputation even further behind the protection of privilege that is given to reporting on such a document tendered in a court hearing," he said.

The parties return to court for a preliminary hearing on October 25.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/fai...s-smith-defamation-claim-20181009-p508on.html

So in defending the defamation claim by Roberts-Smith Fairfax media has managed to add damaging more claims and more detail to what was originally published. Someone's pissed off!

 

[Chubberson]

Sounds like he would have benifited from stronger leadership and less govt hero worship. The DV stuff is distasteful but vague atm. Lets see what transpires. Those guys operate for long periods under massive stress levels, levels the average person won't EVER deal with. Best not to judge something you don't know intimately or much about, full stop. Where was the Hague when politicians sent millions men to die in a giant muddy meat grinder in Verdun and told them death is your duty, refuse and you'll be shot?

Imagine what B Roberts could do with a keyboard.

 

[The Warlord]

Given the stuff is up for defamation action, I'll need to be careful what I write, but BRS has 99 problems here.

When you have the combination of Chris Masters and Nick McKenzie on your tail, hmmmm.

Also, his own comrades are briefing against him. SAS blokes. Again, hmmmmm.

 

[Kurve]

Key points:

• The secret inquiry has been running since May 2016
• Members of the Defence community are annoyed at how long the investigation is taking
• The Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force says the probe is in its final stages

Defence probe into alleged unlawful killings hears from over 300 witnesses

The inquiry, focusing on accusations of unlawful killings and the cruel treatment of civilians and former enemy fighters, is now expected to be wrapped up in the next few months.

www.abc.net.au

 

[CatFan79]

Aussie soldiers or mercenaries representing the biggest drug cartel in the world. The CIA.

 

[Belushi Brassiere]

This "secret inquiry" seems exactly like the Yes, Prime Minister route of Sir Humphrey referring a civil servant's links to the East Germans to "an internal inquiry, possibly under Lord Williams" thus killing the press story!
shellyg

 

[Kurve]

This "secret inquiry" seems exactly like the Yes, Prime Minister route of Sir Humphrey referring a civil servant's links to the East Germans to "an internal inquiry, possibly under Lord Williams" thus killing the press story!
shellyg

Wait and see I guess.

 

[Kurve]

Australian defence force releases long-awaited Brereton report into allegations SAS committed war crimes in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2016. Aside from criminal prosecution, his recommendations include paying immediate compensation to victims and their families, revoking the meritorious unit citation to the entire Special Operations Task Group, and potentially cancelling the individual medals for those concerned.


Brereton’s report describes the special forces’ actions as “disgraceful and a profound betrayal” of the Australian Defence Force and all it stands for.

His report details 23 incidents in which 39 Afghans were unlawfully killed, either by special forces or at the instruction of special forces.

None of the killings took place in the heat of battle, and they took place in circumstances which, if accepted by a jury, would constitute the war crime of murder, the report found.

All the victims were either non-combatants or were no longer combatants, the report finds. A total of 25 perpetrators have been identified either as principals or accessories. Some are still serving in the ADF.

In all cases, the report finds it “was or should have been plain that the person killed was a non-combatant”. The vast majority of victims had been captured and were under control, giving them the protection under international law.

Afghanistan war crimes inquiry report into Australian special forces released – as it happened

Australian defence force releases long-awaited Brereton report into allegations SAS committed war crimes in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2016. This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[Kurve]

I was reluctant to post this, it's so repugnant.


Evidence suggests junior soldiers were instructed by their superiors to execute prisoners in cold blood as part of a “blooding” process to give them their first kill.

“Typically, the patrol commander would take a person under control and the junior member... would then be directed to kill the person under control,” the report found. “‘Throwdowns’ would be placed with the body and a ‘cover story’ was created for the purposes of operational reporting and to deflect scrutiny.”

Credible information also suggests special forces planted “throwdowns” - weapons, radios, or other equipment – on the corpses of Afghans to justify the killings.

Afghanistan war crimes inquiry report into Australian special forces released – as it happened

Australian defence force releases long-awaited Brereton report into allegations SAS committed war crimes in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2016. This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[Kurve]

6m ago00:28
Christopher Knaus

So who is to blame? Well, the Brereton report, to a large degree, absolves senior command of blame for, or knowledge of, the war crimes being committed.
Instead, it says that the criminality was committed and covered up by patrol commanders, usually sergeants or corporals, and involved a “small number of patrol commanders and their protegees”.
“While it would have been much easier to report that it was poor command and leadership that was primarily to blame for the events disclosed in this report, that would be a gross distortion,” the report said.
Patrol commanders, the report found, were viewed by troopers as “demigods”, making it impossible to speak out about their actions.
“They are hero worshipped and unstoppable,” one anonymous soldier explained.

 

[rdhopkins2]

Putrid. thoughts are with the victims and their families in Afghanistan.

This is hardly good for anyone associated with the ADF (ie serving/ past members/families etc).

Also puts all Australians in a bad light. This will only fuel extremists and fundamentalists worldwide.

 

[Kurve]

2m ago11:33
Christopher Knaus

One of the more disturbing incidents canvassed in the documents released on Thursday comes from prior work by military sociologist Samantha Crompvoets, who was tasked with examining special forces culture and began to hear disturbing allegations of war crimes.
One soldier told her:
“Guys just had this blood lust,” he said. “Psychos. Absolute psychos. And we bred them.”
She heard one incident in which two 14-year-old boys were stopped by SAS, who decided they might be Taliban sympathisers. Their throats were slit.
“The rest of the troop then had to ‘clean up the mess’ by finding others to help dispose of the bodies,” Crompvoets reported. “In the end, the bodies were bagged and thrown in a nearby river.”
Her work eventually triggered the Brereton report.


3m ago11:32
Campbell is asked what the ADF intends to do about individuals who did not bear criminal negligence, but may have been negligent.

I will look at them case by case, working with the chief of Army and dealing with our administrative and disciplinary processes to understand their part in this story and their degree of accountability and what actions should be taken against them, if, indeed, actions should be taken.

 

[Kurve]

This page provides resources related to the IGADF Afghanistan Inquiry, including the redacted Inquiry Report.

Resources | IGADF Afghanistan Inquiry

Public resources related to the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) Afghanistan Inquiry

afghanistaninquiry.defence.gov.au

Four Corners report Killing Fields

 

[Kurve]

Federal Court Justice rules the allegations Ben Roberts Smith murdered unarmed prisoners to be substantially true.

JUDGEMENT SUMMARY

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

Another train of thought, it wasn't enough to give him a chest full of war medals, they've given him so many extras outside of military service I think it's too much. He's being exploited. Let soldiers be soldiers, most have a hard time fitting back into civilian life this guy's been pushed forward they expect him to lead there as well. Bizarre imo he's been posted on DV councils, One Punch and Stay Kind campaign as an elite assassin.

This is our upside down world.

Danny Green is one of the biggest supporters / faces of the One Punch campaign and is a champion boxer who punches people for a living.

 

[Kurve]

Ben Roberts who said he was totally disgusted with soldiers drinking from a prosthetic leg, doesn't look disgusted at all in the pics. Yes, there were pics.

The photographs appear at odds with claims made by Mr Roberts-Smith’s lawyer in the Federal Court last year that the war hero was utterly disgusted by the use of the leg as a drinking vessel. Lawyer Bruce McClintock stressed Mr Roberts-Smith “never drank from that thing … Because he thought it was disgusting to souvenir a body part, albeit an artificial one from someone who had been killed in action."

Mr McClintock also told the Federal Court Mr Roberts-Smith had been the one who had killed the disabled Afghan militant, saying he was a member of the Taliban. That killing is suspected by police to be an execution and is now the subject of an Australian Federal Police war crimes inquiry and a preliminary prosecution brief of evidence.

Ben Roberts-Smith pictured cheering soldiers drinking from the prosthetic leg of a man he shot

The Victoria Cross recipient is facing a number of war crimes inquiries, including allegations he executed an unarmed Afghan militant wearing the plastic leg in an operation in Kakarak, southern Afghanistan.

www.theage.com.au