War veteran Ben Roberts-Smith has said that while he was proud to have received the Victoria Cross for his actions at the 2010 battle of Tizak in Afghanistan, winning the award “put a target” on his back, with fellow soldiers seeking to undermine those they saw as tall poppies.
Ben Roberts-Smith took the stand on Thursday after publishers accused of defaming him detailed how the war veteran allegedly murdered six civilians and engaged in a cover up campaign, with the soldier saying he was “devastated” by the allegations.
News publisher Fairfax has been accused of attempts to intimidate Ben Roberts-Smith’s lawyer in contempt of court by publishing inaccurate media reports that the solicitor is in a romantic relationship with the former soldier, after a judge said the reports had made him “uncomfortable”.
Decorated war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith is owed record aggravated damages from Fairfax for publishing allegations of war crimes that it knew was false and decimating his reputation, a court has heard.
Former soldiers driven by ‘corrosive jealousy’ of Ben Roberts-Smith plotted to take down the Victoria Cross recipient and were aided by “credulous journalists”, a court has heard.
The ex-wife of accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith may have accessed his email account containing privileged communications with lawyers, a barrister for the former soldier told a judge on the eve of his defamation trial against Nine.
Accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith has brought legal action against his ex-wife, who is set to give evidence for Nine at the upcoming trial in his defamation case against the publisher.
SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has lost a bid to shield his medical records from three publishers less than a week before his high-profile defamation case kicks off in the Federal Court.
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro has followed through on his threat to sue YouTuber Jordan Shanks for defamation over videos that allegedly implied the politician acted corruptly, engaged in blackmail and repeatedly committed perjury.
Ben Roberts-Smith has won approval to split his case at the upcoming trial in his defamation case against three publishers over articles accusing him of war crimes, with a judge saying the seriousness of the allegations against him weighed in favour of the unorthodox move.