A former elite soldier who has been accused of murdering an Afghan prisoner with his friend Ben Roberts-Smith was twice invited by the Australian Federal Police to an interview but his lawyers declined on his behalf, a court has heard | courts
Under cross-examination by the newspapers’ barrister, Nicholas Owens, SC, Person 11 agreed the AFP had requested to interview him on two occasions but said he was unaware of any “ongoing investigation” into his alleged conduct.“I’m not aware of any investigation,” Person 11 said.
Asked if he was aware of an investigation as at December 2019, he said that “to the best of my knowledge I was just aware they wanted to question me”.Person 11 and Roberts-Smith have told the court that the man killed in Darwan in 2012 was not a prisoner but a Taliban insurgent moving suspiciously in a cornfield. Both men say they shot at the man because they assessed that he was a threat, and he was killed lawfully.
The court heard Roberts-Smith had arranged legal representation for Person 11 as he was called to give evidence as part of a Defence Inspector-General inquiry into allegations of misconduct and war crimes by Australian soldiers. Roberts-Smith is suing the newspapers for defamation over a series of stories in 2018 that he says portray him as a war criminal who was involved in the unlawful killing of Afghan prisoners. He has told the court any killings were carried out lawfully in the heat of battle.The newspapers are seeking to rely on a defence of truth and allege Roberts-Smith was involved in six unlawful killings, including the execution of the man at Darwan.
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