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.
Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys AM is challenging a judge’s decision to toss his defamation case against the ABC over a 7:30 segment that revealed racehorses were being killed in violation of industry rules.
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.
A refugee activist has hit back at a defamation lawsuit brought by Peter Dutton over a tweet calling the defence minister a “rape apologist”, saying it was fair comment on Dutton’s response to the issue of sexual violence in Australia and offshore detention centres.
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.