‘Did we witness an execution?’: Soldier testifies at Ben Roberts-Smith trial
An SAS squadmate has accused decorated veteran Ben Roberts-Smith of a war crime killing in explosive court testimony today.
An SAS soldier, who accuses Ben Roberts-Smith of an “execution”, has defended the Victoria Cross recipient saying he was only killing “bad dudes we were sent there to kill”.
Nine’s latest witness, in extraordinary testimony, has also claimed an SAS patrol commander has long tried to ruin Mr Roberts-Smith through the media.
Mr Roberts-Smith is suing Nine newspapers and journalists over a series of articles that claim he killed six unarmed Afghans while deployed with the SAS.
The highly decorated veteran denies every allegation and has sat in court silently as his former squadmates level accusations in the Federal Court.
A soldier known as Person 24, on Monday, became the latest to claim Mr Roberts-Smith carried out an illegal killing.
The SAS had been fighting to seize control of a Taliban compound known as Whiskey 108 on Easter Sunday in 2009, the court has heard.
Mr Roberts-Smith has told the court he spotted an armed insurgent hurrying around an outside wall of the Whiskey 108 compound and shot him dead within the rules of engagement.
The fighter had a prosthetic leg which another SAS soldier pilfered as a drinking vessel and trophy, the court has heard.
Nine and multiple SAS soldiers from the raid have told a different story - claiming the man with the fake leg was one of two insurgents found in a hidden tunnel beneath Whiskey 108 and taken prisoner.
Person 24 told the court he was standing outside Whiskey 108 when Mr Roberts-Smith marched out of the base with his hand on the “pants or shirt” of the captured insurgent who was alive and grunting.
“Mr Roberts-Smith walked out of the compound… he was holding a man in his hand that appeared to have come off his feet… he marched approximately 15 metres directly out from that entrance, dropped the man on the ground and began with a machine gun burst into the man’s back,” Person 24 said.
“(Mr Roberts-Smith fired) eight to 10 rounds. He stopped firing because the machine gun had a stoppage.”
Person 24 told the court he turned to another SAS soldier, Person 14, who was standing next to him.
“I recall saying to Person 14 at the time ‘did we just witness an execution?’,” Person 24 told the court.
Person 24 said he did not recall any other SAS being present but insisted he had a clear, close view of the shooting.
The soldier said the insurgent was “a medium value target” wanted by the SAS because he was an “IED facilitator”.
As the soldiers began to leave, Person 24 told the court, his patrol commander pilfered the leg from the killed Taliban.
The court has repeatedly heard the patrol commander, Person 6, is considered Mr Roberts-Smith’s enemy within the elite fighting regiment.
Person 24 told the court he cut ties with Person 6 because the patrol commander was speaking with the media against Mr Roberts-Smith.
“I didn’t agree with the agenda (Person 6) was pushing, and he was pushing it hard,” Person 24 told the court.
“I still don’t agree with the fact BRS is here, under extreme duress, for killing bad dudes we went over there to kill.”
Person 24 said Person 6 had been pushing against Mr Roberts-Smith since the raid on Whiskey 108.
“I feel, I don’t have any evidence, but I feel he would be one of the key cornerstone people in having this unfold through the media.”
Person 24’s testimony of Whiskey 108 is partly at odds with another SAS soldier, Person 41, who told the court he also witnessed the shooting - albeit with some key differences.
Person 41 told the court Mr Roberts-Smith flipped the Afghan onto his stomach before shooting him.
He also told the court it was only a three to five round burst of bullets.
Person 41 claimed Mr Roberts-Smith spoke to him immediately after the shooting, saying ‘we all good, we cool?’”.
“I said ‘yeah mate no worries’,” Person 41 told the court.
Person 24, on Monday, made no mention of Person 41 despite both claiming to be just metres from the shooting.
He also told the court he would be “very surprised” if his close friend, Person 14, had given evidence that was dissimilar to his own.
Last month Person 14 told the court he saw an unidentified Australian soldier march a “black object” outside the compound before throwing it to the ground and opening fire with the machine gun.
Person 14 told the court he later saw Mr Roberts-Smith carrying the machine gun.
Notes from Nine journalist Chris Masters, made after a 2018 meeting with Person 14, claim the troop’s “rookie” had shot the Afghan with the fake leg.
Person 14 had told the court Mr Masters notes were wrong - insisting Mr Roberts-Smith was the one carrying the machine gun at Whiskey 108.
Person 24, on Monday, agreed it was dark and he could not see Mr Roberts-Smith’s face because of camouflage face paint.
He told the court he recognised Mr Roberts-Smith from his height and the way he walked.
Mr Roberts-Smith’s barrister, Arthur Moses SC, repeatedly questioned Person 24 about his friendship with Person 14.
The court heard the pair are in a group chat, along with other SAS soldiers, and they communicate privately about the court case.
Person 24 told the court he called Person 14 after the soldier’s first day of evidence earlier this month.
“I asked how he was going. He was all right. He said it was tough. He said you went at him like a rabid dog,” Person 24 told Mr Moses.
Person 14, hours earlier, had been warned by Justice Anthony Besanko not to talk about his evidence.
At the beginning of Person 14’s second day of evidence he told the court he had only spoken with his wife and lawyer over the weekend.
He told the court he had not spoken about his evidence with anyone.
Person 24, on Monday, said he also spoke with Person 14 after his last day of evidence.
The court heard Person 14 and another SAS soldier had asked Person 24 to speak to Nine’s journalists but Person 24 said he never wanted to speak to the media, and never did.
But, Person 24 said, he did go to the launch of Mr Masters book about the allegations against the SAS and had the journalist sign a copy of the book.
“I didn’t agree with the guys going to the media, I am adamant it was extremely unfair how this panned out for BRS,” he told the court.
The case continues.
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