Ben Roberts-Smith’s lawyer quotes Seinfeld and Neighbours in court
Ben Roberts-Smith’s barrister has quoted Seinfeld, Sherlock Holmes, Walter Mitty and even Neighbours in a colourful court spray.
Ben Roberts-Smith’s lawyers have furiously denounced Nine’s case as an “embarrassment”, saying it failed to reveal why the Victoria Cross recipient allegedly switched from decorated hero to “homicidal psychopath” who killed six unarmed Afghans.
The SAS veteran’s legal team have also questioned why Nine did not call a key witness, said to be involved in a war crime murder, despite “knowing where he is”.
The defamation lawsuit launched by Mr Roberts-Smith, against the Nine’s Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, is in its final days in Sydney’s Federal Court after more than 100 days of evidence.
Lawyers for Nine have spent most of the week taking Justice Anthony Besanko through the evidence of key witnesses, mostly SAS veterans, alleging inconsistencies or worse.
The newspapers have alleged Mr Roberts-Smith travelled the world to meet up with his mates, SAS veterans accused of helping him carry out executions, to “collude” on their evidence to war crime investigators.
Mr Roberts-Smith’s barrister, Arthur Moses SC, said Nine paint themselves as “pseudo-war crime investigators”, but are less like the forensic Sherlock Holmes and more like the daydreaming Walter Mitty.
“Mr Roberts-Smith, a veteran of the Australian Defence Force, who served his nation with distinction… A soldier who received the most impressive reports about his duty and service to his country, with no allegations of criminality,” Mr Moses said, listing Mr Roberts-Smith’s medals including the Victoria Cross and Medal for Gallantry.
“This same soldier… is apparently a homicidal psychopath - seriously?”
Mr Moses appeared incensed on Friday saying Nine had provided no motive for Mr Roberts-Smith’s alleged crimes because none could exist.
Mr Roberts-Smith detained hundreds of Afghans on hundreds of missions, Mr Moses told the court, and there was no reason suggested why he would kill six among them.
“According to (Nine), he is a person who switches from acts of gallantry… to a person who, for no apparent reason, breaches the rules of engagement to kill or be complicit in the killing of detained Afghan males on six different occasions,” Mr Moses said.
Nine claims one of the six war crime murders took place in late 2012 in the region of Chenartu as the SAS worked alongside the Afghan special forces - known as Wakunish.
Nine and an SAS witness have told the court Mr Roberts-Smith was questioning a group of detained Afghans when a weapons cache was discovered nearby.
Mr Roberts-Smith, Nine claims, ordered an Wakunish commander, known as Person 12, to have one of the detainees executed presumably because of the weapons.
Mr Roberts-Smith and one of his SAS witnesses deny that happened - one of Nine’s SAS witnesses insists he saw the alleged murder.
The court, on Friday, heard Person 12 was not called to give evidence despite Nine knowing where he is located.
“(Nine) have not made any attempt to call him… they know where he is,” Mr Moses said.
“Is there an apprehension that he may not support their case?”
Despite dozens and dozens of witnesses and months of testimony the marathon trial really swings on a few moments in Afghanistan more than a decade ago.
One such moment is a raid on a Taliban compound known as Whiskey 108 where Nine claims Mr Roberts-Smith executed a captive and ordered a junior soldier to execute a second.
He denies those claims.
One witness, known as Person 24, told the court he witnessed a large shoulder machine gun a captive - Nine claims that was Mr Roberts-Smith.
“Did we just witness an execution?” Person 24 claims he said to another soldier.
Mr Moses, on Friday, said it was a Seinfeldian lie.
“That witness subscribes to the judicial dictum of ‘it’s not a lie, if you believe it’ - with apologies to George Costanza.”
One of Mr Roberts-Smith’s chief accusers, known as Person 7, told the court he had been a source for Nine on some of the serious war crime claims but also on general “gossip” about Mr Roberts-Smith’s life.
The court has heard notes from his meetings with journalists included claims about Mr Roberts-Smiths’ family, his parents and even his behaviour as a child.
Person 7 agreed he was frustrated and frequently vexed that Mr Roberts-Smith had been given the Victoria Cross despite serious allegations against him.
Mr Moses took aim at Person 7 on Friday
“He would even make Mrs Mangel from Neighbours blush in respect of his amount of gossiping,” he said.
“His gossiping has led people to have a suspicion about Mr Roberts-Smith which has turned into a belief he is a war criminal.”
The closing arguments will continue next week.
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