Ben Roberts-Smith: OSI uncovers new war crimes evidence, secures fresh witnesses
During his opening remarks at the start of the case, Roberts-Smith's barrister, Bruce McClintock, told the court: 'My client did not drink from the leg. The respondents have been desperately trying to find evidence that he did, but he never did.'
When he was directly asked in court during cross-examination: 'Did you yourself drink from the leg?' , Roberts-Smith replied: 'No, I didn't.'
However, the video uncovered by the OSI shows the disgraced soldier being passed the prosthetic leg before sculling from it during a party at the Fat Lady's Arms.
Ben Roberts-Smith (left) with a former colleague drinking from the prosthetic leg of a dead Afghan man in 2012.
On Tuesday, the full bench of the Federal Court released their judgment, explaining why they upheld Justice Besanko's 2023 decision that Roberts-Smith was complicit in the murder of four unarmed prisoners, including the man with the prosthetic leg, while deployed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.
Federal Court justices Nye Perram, Anna Katzmann and Geoffrey Kennett found the evidence was sufficiently cogent to conclude that Roberts-Smith was a war criminal who had disgraced his country and the SASR, including by having machine-gunned the unarmed prisoner with a prosthetic leg outside Whiskey 108.
The three senior judges said the latter finding was based on the compelling testimony of three of Roberts-Smith's fellow SASR soldiers.
Loading
'The problem for [Roberts-Smith] is that, unlike most homicides, there were three eyewitnesses to this murder,' the three judges concluded.
'When all is said and done, it is a rare murder that is witnessed by three independent witnesses. This strength of this evidence cannot be erased, and is in no way undermined, by peripheral inconsistencies.'
The appeal court also said that 'the killing of the man with the prosthetic leg in such a dramatic fashion does suggest a certain recklessness or perhaps even brazenness' on Roberts-Smith's part.
While Roberts-Smith still denies wrongdoing, and has vowed to continue his legal fight to clear his name by challenging the four judges' findings in the High Court, the revelation the OSI has also secured the co-operation of witnesses who did not testify in the defamation trial, or gave only limited testimony, is a blow to the disgraced ex-soldier and former Seven West Media executive.
The OSI is staffed with elite detectives from state police forces, including handpicked homicide investigators.
Sources said its inquiries had proceeded far more slowly than the agency had hoped, but this was due to a painstakingly exhaustive and risk-averse approach adopted by OSI chief, former top prosecutor and judge Mark Weinberg.
Weinberg has sought to avoid the legal pitfalls that led to the abandonment in 2021 of an earlier federal police war crimes investigation targeting Roberts-Smith.
The OSI is working with the AFP to target Roberts-Smith and has secured more evidence and witness co-operation than the stymied federal police probe.
The OSI probe is not only aimed at seeking to prosecute Roberts-Smith but several of his accomplices who, like the disgraced war hero, were also found to have lied during the defamation proceedings to cover up war crimes.
Loading
Billionaire Gina Rinehart emerged this week as Roberts-Smith's latest mega-wealthy public supporter, describing him as 'brave and patriotic' and claiming the reporting of his actions in Afghanistan as weakening the defence forces.
Her statement has angered SASR veterans who believe the mining magnate's defence of the war criminal is misguided and offensive to Australian veterans who repeatedly deployed to Afghanistan and are against the execution of civilians and prisoners.
'If Rinehart has read the full court's judgment, she must know it was other regiment blokes that are the ones that have stood up against his [Roberts-Smith's] crimes. There is nothing honourable about kicking an Afghan farmer off a cliff,' one SASR insider who served alongside Roberts-Smith said.
A second SASR insider who also served in Afghanistan said he believed Rinehart's advocacy was at odds with 'the views of most Australians who don't want their soldiers executing civilians or prisoners'.
'We don't do that,' the SASR veteran said, claiming that Roberts-Smith's decision to spend millions of dollars on defamation proceedings had brought untold 'trauma' for soldiers subsequently caught up in his legal fight.
Rinehart has refused to say if she is funding Roberts-Smith's ongoing legal battles, with
his former employer, Channel Seven owner Kerry Stokes, no longer footing the war criminal's bill.
Rinehart was approached for comment.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Advertiser
a day ago
- The Advertiser
Empty chairs spark bid to arrest premier's senior staff
Five senior government staffers could face arrest after failing to appear at an inquiry into an explosive-laden caravan found on Sydney's outskirts. In a dramatic escalation of an otherwise routine inquiry, the process to arrest the high-ranking staff in the offices of NSW Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley was set in motion on Friday after the quintet declined to appear. Committee chair and independent MP Rod Roberts conducted a roll call for the premier's chief of staff James Cullen and four other staffers before approaching upper house president Ben Franklin to seek arrest warrants. Mr Roberts said the president was non-committal when asked to go to the Supreme Court for the warrants, but Mr Franklin had a "very important and very crucial decision". "All along, Labor has tried to stonewall, delay and ridicule this important inquiry," fellow committee member John Ruddick said on social media. Agreeing to pursue the warrants could come with a personal awkwardness for Mr Franklin, given he is the godfather of the premier's second child. Arrest warrants can be issued to force a witness to attend an inquiry while witnesses who refuse to answer questions can face jail time. NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said the failure of Mr Minns' staff to appear at the probe into controversial protest and hate speech legislation indicated the premier might have breached corruption rules. "If the premier has given a direction to staff to disobey a lawful requirement to appear, that would appear to be a breach of the ministerial code," he said. The protest and speech laws were rushed through the NSW parliament in February after explosives, anti-Semitic messaging and a list of addresses of Jewish people and institutions were found inside the caravan at Dural in Sydney's northwest on January 19. The discovery prompted fears of a terrorist attack or mass-casualty event, as the premier and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese immediately dubbed it. It later emerged it was a hoax, with senior NSW police telling Mr Roberts' inquiry they believed virtually from the outset it was a ruse. In a letter to the committee announcing their intention not to attend, the staffers say appearing before the inquiry "would be at odds with the principles of ministerial accountability". Mr Roberts pressed against that motion on Friday as he addressed empty chairs. "The committee is not seeking to sanction ministerial staff for their actions, only to shed light on the events in the lead up to the passage of the hate speech and protest laws through parliament," Mr Roberts said. Mr Minns attacked the upper house on Thursday for trying to get government staff to appear at inquiries "on a routine basis" - "almost like they're criminals and under investigation, or they should front some kind of Star Chamber inquiry". "And if not, they're under threat of arrest," he said. As members of the lower house, Mr Minns and Ms Catley cannot be compelled to appear at the upper house inquiry to give evidence. But staffers can be forced to appear. Another staffer named in the motion, Mr Minns' deputy chief of staff Edward Ovadia, said in the letter he should be excused from attending the committee because he was on leave at the time and did not attend meetings. The premier and police minister say they have commented extensively on the matter, including at parliamentary hearings and press conferences and during question time. Five senior government staffers could face arrest after failing to appear at an inquiry into an explosive-laden caravan found on Sydney's outskirts. In a dramatic escalation of an otherwise routine inquiry, the process to arrest the high-ranking staff in the offices of NSW Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley was set in motion on Friday after the quintet declined to appear. Committee chair and independent MP Rod Roberts conducted a roll call for the premier's chief of staff James Cullen and four other staffers before approaching upper house president Ben Franklin to seek arrest warrants. Mr Roberts said the president was non-committal when asked to go to the Supreme Court for the warrants, but Mr Franklin had a "very important and very crucial decision". "All along, Labor has tried to stonewall, delay and ridicule this important inquiry," fellow committee member John Ruddick said on social media. Agreeing to pursue the warrants could come with a personal awkwardness for Mr Franklin, given he is the godfather of the premier's second child. Arrest warrants can be issued to force a witness to attend an inquiry while witnesses who refuse to answer questions can face jail time. NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said the failure of Mr Minns' staff to appear at the probe into controversial protest and hate speech legislation indicated the premier might have breached corruption rules. "If the premier has given a direction to staff to disobey a lawful requirement to appear, that would appear to be a breach of the ministerial code," he said. The protest and speech laws were rushed through the NSW parliament in February after explosives, anti-Semitic messaging and a list of addresses of Jewish people and institutions were found inside the caravan at Dural in Sydney's northwest on January 19. The discovery prompted fears of a terrorist attack or mass-casualty event, as the premier and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese immediately dubbed it. It later emerged it was a hoax, with senior NSW police telling Mr Roberts' inquiry they believed virtually from the outset it was a ruse. In a letter to the committee announcing their intention not to attend, the staffers say appearing before the inquiry "would be at odds with the principles of ministerial accountability". Mr Roberts pressed against that motion on Friday as he addressed empty chairs. "The committee is not seeking to sanction ministerial staff for their actions, only to shed light on the events in the lead up to the passage of the hate speech and protest laws through parliament," Mr Roberts said. Mr Minns attacked the upper house on Thursday for trying to get government staff to appear at inquiries "on a routine basis" - "almost like they're criminals and under investigation, or they should front some kind of Star Chamber inquiry". "And if not, they're under threat of arrest," he said. As members of the lower house, Mr Minns and Ms Catley cannot be compelled to appear at the upper house inquiry to give evidence. But staffers can be forced to appear. Another staffer named in the motion, Mr Minns' deputy chief of staff Edward Ovadia, said in the letter he should be excused from attending the committee because he was on leave at the time and did not attend meetings. The premier and police minister say they have commented extensively on the matter, including at parliamentary hearings and press conferences and during question time. Five senior government staffers could face arrest after failing to appear at an inquiry into an explosive-laden caravan found on Sydney's outskirts. In a dramatic escalation of an otherwise routine inquiry, the process to arrest the high-ranking staff in the offices of NSW Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley was set in motion on Friday after the quintet declined to appear. Committee chair and independent MP Rod Roberts conducted a roll call for the premier's chief of staff James Cullen and four other staffers before approaching upper house president Ben Franklin to seek arrest warrants. Mr Roberts said the president was non-committal when asked to go to the Supreme Court for the warrants, but Mr Franklin had a "very important and very crucial decision". "All along, Labor has tried to stonewall, delay and ridicule this important inquiry," fellow committee member John Ruddick said on social media. Agreeing to pursue the warrants could come with a personal awkwardness for Mr Franklin, given he is the godfather of the premier's second child. Arrest warrants can be issued to force a witness to attend an inquiry while witnesses who refuse to answer questions can face jail time. NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said the failure of Mr Minns' staff to appear at the probe into controversial protest and hate speech legislation indicated the premier might have breached corruption rules. "If the premier has given a direction to staff to disobey a lawful requirement to appear, that would appear to be a breach of the ministerial code," he said. The protest and speech laws were rushed through the NSW parliament in February after explosives, anti-Semitic messaging and a list of addresses of Jewish people and institutions were found inside the caravan at Dural in Sydney's northwest on January 19. The discovery prompted fears of a terrorist attack or mass-casualty event, as the premier and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese immediately dubbed it. It later emerged it was a hoax, with senior NSW police telling Mr Roberts' inquiry they believed virtually from the outset it was a ruse. In a letter to the committee announcing their intention not to attend, the staffers say appearing before the inquiry "would be at odds with the principles of ministerial accountability". Mr Roberts pressed against that motion on Friday as he addressed empty chairs. "The committee is not seeking to sanction ministerial staff for their actions, only to shed light on the events in the lead up to the passage of the hate speech and protest laws through parliament," Mr Roberts said. Mr Minns attacked the upper house on Thursday for trying to get government staff to appear at inquiries "on a routine basis" - "almost like they're criminals and under investigation, or they should front some kind of Star Chamber inquiry". "And if not, they're under threat of arrest," he said. As members of the lower house, Mr Minns and Ms Catley cannot be compelled to appear at the upper house inquiry to give evidence. But staffers can be forced to appear. Another staffer named in the motion, Mr Minns' deputy chief of staff Edward Ovadia, said in the letter he should be excused from attending the committee because he was on leave at the time and did not attend meetings. The premier and police minister say they have commented extensively on the matter, including at parliamentary hearings and press conferences and during question time. Five senior government staffers could face arrest after failing to appear at an inquiry into an explosive-laden caravan found on Sydney's outskirts. In a dramatic escalation of an otherwise routine inquiry, the process to arrest the high-ranking staff in the offices of NSW Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley was set in motion on Friday after the quintet declined to appear. Committee chair and independent MP Rod Roberts conducted a roll call for the premier's chief of staff James Cullen and four other staffers before approaching upper house president Ben Franklin to seek arrest warrants. Mr Roberts said the president was non-committal when asked to go to the Supreme Court for the warrants, but Mr Franklin had a "very important and very crucial decision". "All along, Labor has tried to stonewall, delay and ridicule this important inquiry," fellow committee member John Ruddick said on social media. Agreeing to pursue the warrants could come with a personal awkwardness for Mr Franklin, given he is the godfather of the premier's second child. Arrest warrants can be issued to force a witness to attend an inquiry while witnesses who refuse to answer questions can face jail time. NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said the failure of Mr Minns' staff to appear at the probe into controversial protest and hate speech legislation indicated the premier might have breached corruption rules. "If the premier has given a direction to staff to disobey a lawful requirement to appear, that would appear to be a breach of the ministerial code," he said. The protest and speech laws were rushed through the NSW parliament in February after explosives, anti-Semitic messaging and a list of addresses of Jewish people and institutions were found inside the caravan at Dural in Sydney's northwest on January 19. The discovery prompted fears of a terrorist attack or mass-casualty event, as the premier and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese immediately dubbed it. It later emerged it was a hoax, with senior NSW police telling Mr Roberts' inquiry they believed virtually from the outset it was a ruse. In a letter to the committee announcing their intention not to attend, the staffers say appearing before the inquiry "would be at odds with the principles of ministerial accountability". Mr Roberts pressed against that motion on Friday as he addressed empty chairs. "The committee is not seeking to sanction ministerial staff for their actions, only to shed light on the events in the lead up to the passage of the hate speech and protest laws through parliament," Mr Roberts said. Mr Minns attacked the upper house on Thursday for trying to get government staff to appear at inquiries "on a routine basis" - "almost like they're criminals and under investigation, or they should front some kind of Star Chamber inquiry". "And if not, they're under threat of arrest," he said. As members of the lower house, Mr Minns and Ms Catley cannot be compelled to appear at the upper house inquiry to give evidence. But staffers can be forced to appear. Another staffer named in the motion, Mr Minns' deputy chief of staff Edward Ovadia, said in the letter he should be excused from attending the committee because he was on leave at the time and did not attend meetings. The premier and police minister say they have commented extensively on the matter, including at parliamentary hearings and press conferences and during question time.
Sky News AU
a day ago
- Sky News AU
NSW Premier Chris Minns staffers facing potential arrests after skipping major inquiry into Dural explosives
Three of New South Wales Premier Chris Minns staffers could potentially be arrested after they failed to show up to a major inquiry into a 'fabricated terrorist plot' on the outskirts of Sydney. On Friday, five NSW government staffers, including three senior staff members of the Premier, snubbed a hearing of an inquiry looking into an incident in January when explosives were found in a caravan in Dural. Chair of the inquiry Rod Roberts expressed disappointment when the five staffers, who had been summoned to attend, failed to appear. 'The committee will now consider further action in relation to these witnesses,' Mr Roberts said on Friday, according to The Daily Telegraph. 'The committee seeks to question ministerial staff about who was present at the briefings held by the NSW Police, what was discussed and what records were kept', Mr Roberts said regarding the Dural caravan incident, the masthead reported. According to the NSW Parliamentary Evidence Act, any person who is not a member of the Legislative Council or Assembly can be summoned to attend and provide evidence at parliamentary hearings. Failure to attend without reasonable excuse can result in a certificate being sent to a judge of the Supreme Court, who has the power to then issue a warrant for the person's arrest. Mr Minns previously confirmed he is refusing to appear at the Dural caravan inquiry himself, citing time constraints and his lack of availability to attend such hearings. The Premier claimed the inquiry is a 'giant conspiracy' when he spoke to 2GB Sydney radio host Ben Fordham on Tuesday morning. 'It rests on the premise that the Dural caravan case was not a threat to the community... that we knew about the circumstances relating to the case from the very beginning, which is not true,' Mr Minns told the radio host. 'And lastly, that we used that circumstance to push through vilification laws to prevent antisemitism or try and confront antisemitism in the community. It's a giant conspiracy.' The inquiry comes months after a caravan with explosives, which was initially feared to trigger a mass casualty event, was discovered in Sydney's northwest on January 19. Australian Federal Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett told media in January that investigators 'almost immediately' realised the explosives were part of a 'fabricated terrorist plot'. 'I can reveal the caravan was never going to cause a mass casualty event but instead was concocted by criminals who wanted to cause fear for personal benefit,' the Deputy Commissioner said. Public Service Association (PSA) general secretary Stewart Little has chimed in on the hearing snub controversy, blasting the NSW upper house over the investigation. "Our members shouldn't be pawns in parliamentary parlour games with upper house MPs posturing to get media coverage," Mr Little said in a statement on Thursday. "If upper house MPs want to know the facts they need to concentrate on getting the Premier to appear before them, or the relevant Ministers.' Mr Little criticised the move to summon the staffers to the inquiry, calling it 'the pits'. '... Drag in ministers or the senior departmental heads by all means, but junior public servants and parliamentary staffers have no bearing or consequence or meaning on the political process,' the general secretary said.
7NEWS
a day ago
- 7NEWS
Arrest push on senior Minns, Catley staffers after they fail to attend caravan plot inquiry
Five senior government staffers face possible arrest in a dramatic escalation of a probe examining officials' knowledge about an explosive-laden caravan found on Sydney 's outskirts. The high-ranking staff in the offices of NSW Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley failed to appear as summonsed on Friday at an upper house inquiry. Committee chair independent MP Rod Roberts conducted a roll call for the premier's chief of staff, James Cullen, and four other staffers on Friday before the committee set in motion a process to seek arrest warrants. In a letter to the committee announcing their intention not to appear, the staffers say appearing before the inquiry 'would be at odds with the principles of ministerial accountability'. Roberts pressed against that motion on Friday as he addressed empty chairs. 'The committee is not seeking to sanction ministerial staff for their actions, only to shed light on the events in the lead up to the passage of the hate speech and protest laws through parliament,' Roberts said. Protest legislation Controversial protest legislation was rushed through the NSW parliament in February after explosives, anti-Semitic messaging and a list of addresses of Jewish people and institutions were found inside the caravan at Dural in Sydney's northwest on January 19. The discovery prompted fears of a terrorist attack or mass-casualty event, as the premier and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese immediately dubbed it. It later emerged to be a hoax, with senior NSW police telling Roberts' inquiry they believed virtually from the outset it was a ruse. The premier on Thursday attacked the upper house for 'on a routine basis' trying to get government staff to appear at inquiries 'almost like they're criminals and under investigation, or they should front some kind of Star Chamber inquiry'. 'And if not, they're under threat of arrest,' he said. As members of the lower house, Minns and Catley cannot be compelled to appear at the upper house inquiry to give evidence. Staffers, however, can be forced to appear. The committee believes they were present during police briefings to the ministers. Another staffer named in the motion, Minns' deputy chief of staff, Edward Ovadia, said in the letter he should be excused from attending the committee as he was on leave at the time and did not attend any meetings. The committee will ask the upper house president, independent Ben Franklin, to go to the NSW Supreme Court and seek warrants for their arrest. The premier and police minister say they have commented extensively on the matter, including parliamentary hearings, press conferences and question time.
