Trial in war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case over articles accusing him of war crimes has been adjourned until November in light of the current COVID-19 lockdown in Sydney, which a judge noted could be extended beyond the month of August.
A witness for two Nine-owned newspapers sued by Ben Roberts-Smith has been accused of fabricating a story that the war veteran kicked his step-uncle off a cliff before ordering him to be shot to gain compensation from the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.
Australian soldiers who raided a village in Afghanistan were “infidels” and the people they killed were “martyrs”, an Afghan villager related to a man allegedly murdered by veteran Ben Roberts-Smith has told a court.
A communications device was planted on an unarmed Afghan villager who was allegedly murdered by former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith, a court overseeing the accused war criminal’s defamation trial has heard.
Canberra has been floated as a potential new venue for the trial in former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case as Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak worsens, but a judge has said moving the hearing created “real difficulties”.
Media company Nine, which is facing defamation claims from Ben Roberts-Smith over articles accusing him of war crimes, has asked the court to set aside two subpoenas from the decorated veteran related to a woman who has accused him of domestic violence, arguing the subpoenas act as a substitute for discovery.
Four witnesses who allegedly saw Ben Roberts-Smith kick a handcuffed man off a cliff in Afghanistan will give evidence next week in the war veteran’s defamation trial, which has been disrupted by COVID-19 restrictions in NSW.
Trial in the defamation case by war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith against Nine may face additional delays or be transferred out of Sydney after the NSW Government extended the city’s COVID-19 restrictions by two weeks.
Canadian trader Daniel Schlaepfer has suffered a loss in his $10 million defamation case against ASIC, with an appeals court tossing the lawsuit despite finding the regulator defamed him and his firm by accusing them of unlawful market manipulation.
Trial in the defamation case by accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith has been adjourned for three weeks after COVID-19 restrictions prevented witnesses from travelling to Sydney and national security concerns were raised regarding Afghani witnesses set to give evidence.