A former elite soldier who served alongside Ben Roberts-Smith in Afghanistan has denied the pair were involved in the unlawful execution of an unarmed prisoner during a key mission in 2012 MWhitbourn | courts
He rejected the newspapers’ claims that either he or Roberts-Smith, his patrol commander, shot dead a handcuffed Afghan prisoner in the village of Darwan in 2012 after Roberts-Smith kicked the man off a cliff.
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. Under the rules of engagement that bound the SAS, prisoners could not be killed. He has told the Federal Court any killings were carried out lawfully in the heat of battle.
Person 11 said he did not recall taking any Afghans prisoner during the Darwan mission and it was not the responsibility of his patrol, led by Roberts-Smith. He also said he did not see any fighting-age males as his patrol cleared compounds in the village. Roberts-Smith and Person 11 had a quick conversation before “a number of shots rang out,” he said. He told the court he saw Person 11 with his rifle raised in a firing position after he heard shots fired.
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