BBC News, Sydney

Australia's most-decorated living soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has lost a historic

defamation case against three newspapers that accused him of war crimes in
Afghanistan.

The outlets were sued over articles alleging he killed unarmed prisoners.

The civil trial was the first time a court has assessed accusations of war crimes
by Australian forces.

A judge said four of the six murder allegations - all denied by the soldier - were
substantially true.

These included:

A handcuffed farmer the soldier had kicked off a cliff - a fall which knocked
out the man's teeth, before he was subsequently shot dead
A captured Taliban fighter who was shot at least 10 times in the back, before
his prosthetic leg was taken as a trophy and later used by troops as a drinking
vessel
Two murders which were ordered or agreed to by Mr Roberts-Smith to initiate or
"blood" rookie soldiers.

Justice Anthony Besanko found the newspaper had not proven two other murder
allegations; nor reports Mr Roberts-Smith had assaulted a woman with whom he was
having an affair; nor a threat against a junior colleague.

But additional allegations that he had unlawfully assaulted captives and bullied
peers were found to be true.

Mr Roberts-Smith, who left the defence force in 2013, has not been charged over any
of the claims in a criminal court, where there is a higher burden of proof. The 44-
year-old was not present for Thursday's judgement.

After the decision, a Taliban spokesman said the case was proof of "uncountable
crimes" by foreign forces in Afghanistan, but added he did not trust any court
globally to follow them up.

Australian troops were deployed to Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021. Australian
Defence Minister Richard Marles declined to comment on the case, saying it was a
civil matter.

Mr Roberts-Smith is Australia's most famous living war veteran and served with the
country's elite Special Air Service Regiment (SAS).

He received the country's highest military award - the Victoria Cross - in 2011 for
having single-handedly overpowered Taliban machine-gunners who had been attacking
his platoon.

But his public image was shattered in 2018 when The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age
and The Canberra Times started publishing articles about his misconduct between
2009 and 2012.

The soldier argued five of the killings reported by the newspapers had occurred
legally during combat, and the sixth did not happen at all.

His defamation case - dubbed by some "the trial of the century" - lasted 110 days
and was rumoured to have cost up to A$25m ($16.3m, £13.2m).
More than 40 witnesses - including Afghan villagers, a government minister and a
string of current and former SAS soldiers - gave extraordinary evidence about every
facet of Mr Roberts-Smith's life.

How a top soldier's defamation case rocked Australia

But the case also exposed some of the secretive inner workings of Australia's elite
special forces.

The trial heard from soldiers who said potential misconduct was rarely reported due
to a "code of silence" within the regiment, and others defended their actions as
necessary.

Many giving evidence were there unwillingly, having been subpoenaed, and three
refused to speak about some allegations fearing self-incrimination.

Much of the evidence against Mr Roberts-Smith relied on eyewitness accounts and

recollections of discussions among soldiers. Justice Besanko had to weigh the
reliability of witnesses against each other, with the media outlets contending
theirs had no reason to lie.

Speaking outside the Federal Court in Sydney, the news outlets called the judgement
a "vindication" for their reporting.

"It's a day of justice for the brave men of the SAS who stood up and told the truth
about who Ben Roberts-Smith is: a war criminal, a bully and a liar," said
investigative reporter Nick McKenzie, who wrote the stories alongside Chris Masters
and David Wroe.

"[And] today is a day of some small justice for the Afghan victims of Ben