Source TDTOP :Australia’s highly decorated soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, has faced a significant legal setback as he lost a landmark defamation case against three newspapers. The publications had accused him of committing war crimes during his service in Afghanistan. This civil trial marked the first instance where a court examined allegations of war crimes involving Australian forces. In the judgment, Justice Anthony Besanko determined that four out of the six murder allegations, which Roberts-Smith vehemently denied, were substantially true. However, the newspapers failed to substantiate additional claims that he had assaulted a woman he was involved with or that he had threatened a junior colleague to falsify reports. The court did find merit in allegations of bullying. It’s important to note that Roberts-Smith has not been formally charged with any of the accusations, and no criminal court has made any determinations against him, given the higher burden of proof required in such cases. Despite being Australia’s most renowned living war veteran, receiving the Victoria Cross in 2011 for his heroic actions against Taliban fighters, Roberts-Smith’s public image was marred by the publication of articles in 2018 highlighting alleged misconduct between 2009 and 2012. Throughout the trial, Roberts-Smith contended that five of the reported killings occurred legally during combat, while he denied the occurrence of the sixth altogether. Justice Besanko upheld the media outlets’ reporting on the four murders but found the evidence insufficient for the other two allegations.