Former soldier Ben Roberts Smith has told radio host Ben Fordam on 2GB that he has no regrets about his military career. Roberts Smith joined the army in 1996 and later became a member of the SASR. His father, Len Roberts Smith, once led a taskforce that found 1,723 plausible complaints of sexual abuse at the Australian Defence Force Academy. The source article defends Roberts Smith against allegations that he unlawfully killed five civilians in Afghanistan, as alleged by the Office of Special Investigator attached to the Brereton Inquiry.
Former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has told radio host Ben Fordham he considered suicide for several months after being accused of war crimes. Roberts-Smith, who was arrested in April and charged over the alleged murders of five unarmed detainees in Afghanistan, denies any wrongdoing. He said he decided against suicide because he saw it as surrender. He criticised the decade-long investigation into alleged Australian war crimes and the federal government's changes to war crimes laws. Earlier, a Federal Court judge found he was responsible for several killings in a defamation case.
Ben Roberts-Smith has said his failed defamation case cost billionaire Kerry Stokes upwards of $30 million. Stokes had backed the case, including by paying legal bills. In a radio interview with 2GB, Roberts-Smith said he would not change anything in his military career. He faces five counts of war crime murder linked to his Afghanistan deployments between 2009 and 2012, which he denies. Prosecutors allege the victims were unarmed Afghan nationals. The case returns to court in December.
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Ben Roberts-Smith says he lost his defamation case against Nine newspapers because he did not understand the civil court system, not because he is guilty. In a two-and-a-half-hour interview with 2GB broadcaster Ben Fordham, he denied murdering Afghan prisoners. A Federal Court judge found he was responsible for four unlawful killings on the balance of probabilities. He faces five counts of the war crime of murder, which he vehemently denies. He has not yet stood trial.
Ben Roberts-Smith has rejected claims he drank from the prosthetic leg of an unarmed Afghan man he shot, in a radio interview with 2GB host Ben Fordham. The former SAS soldier, who has been charged with murdering or ordering the murder of five unarmed detainees in Afghanistan, said he had never committed a war crime. He denied shooting prisoners and said he had acted within the laws of armed conflict. A Federal Court judge previously found he was responsible for a number of killings, a finding he has not accepted in the interview.
Former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith and his partner Sarah Matulin have launched a workout supplements business. Mr Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient, faces five counts of war crime murder over alleged unlawful killings in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. He has yet to enter pleas and has long maintained his innocence. Ms Matulin posted a video saying the couple wanted financial stability and chose to build their own business. The matter is next scheduled to be called in court in December.
Ben Roberts-Smith has launched EPIC 1 TWO, an online clothing label selling T-shirts, hoodies and trucker hats priced from $49 to $85. The name comes from his military radio call sign. He said the brand was partly a way to make money for his family. The launch comes as he faces five counts of war crime murder over alleged conduct in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. He has consistently denied wrongdoing and says he will keep fighting the allegations.
Ben Roberts-Smith, who has been charged over the deaths of five unarmed detainees in Afghanistan, has launched a clothing brand. He says he needs the income to support his family and pay for his legal expenses. Roberts-Smith denies all allegations against him. The brand, EPIC 1 TWO, is named after his radio call sign on the mission for which he received the Victoria Cross. The charges relate to three incidents between 2009 and 2012, which he denies. He attended the opening of Anzac Hall at the Australian War Memorial on Sunday after bail was varied.
Droughts in Afghanistan's Badghis province are pushing families to sell their young daughters into marriage to repay debts, buy food and pay for medical treatment. Families displaced from rural villages by drought often struggle to survive in towns and camps. Girls as young as two have been engaged, and some have married children or been married to much older men. Aid organisation World Vision International says early marriage exposes girls to serious health risks, while clinics treating them are closing as foreign aid is cut.
Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith has recorded a two-hour interview with Sydney radio host Ben Fordham, according to a source. Sections will air over several days next week on the Tapt Media network, with a full video version to be uploaded to YouTube. Mr Roberts-Smith faces murder charges linked to allegations that he ordered prisoners executed in Afghanistan and killed some himself, which he denies. Prosecutors may use any comments he makes to Fordham in court. The charges are before the New South Wales Local Court and are likely to take years to reach trial.
Thousands of people who served in Afghanistan were honoured at a 25th anniversary service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and former prime ministers attended. Veteran Ben Roberts-Smith, who faces five counts of war crime murder that he has rejected, was granted court permission to attend. Forty-seven Australian Defence Force personnel died and 263 were wounded during the deployment. Private Robert Poate's mother, Janny Poate, spoke of the families left with empty places at home.
The RSL, Legacy and the Australian War Memorial are calling for the release of official histories covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The four Middle East volumes were commissioned in 2015 and completed in 2023, but none have been published. RSL national president Peter Tinley said veterans want the government to honour their service through an official record. The histories must be cleared by government departments before publication, and the process has been slow. The government did not answer questions about the delay.
