Warzones, letters, police investigations declassified in Ben Roberts-Smith trial

New documents have been released in Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation trial, shedding light on its most closely guarded moments.

A massive tranche of closely guarded photographs, messages, police reports and private war stories has been released in the twilight days of Ben Roberts-Smith‘s defamation trial giving never before seen insight into many of the key witnesses and war crime accusations.

Mr Roberts-Smith is suing Nine newspapers in the Federal Court alleging a series of 2018 articles falsely portrayed him as a war criminal responsible for executing six unarmed Afghan prisoners.

He steadfastly denies all their claims while Nine has mounted a truth defence, arguing Mr Roberts-Smith is a murderer, bully and abuser of women.

Justice Anthony Besanko has heard almost one week of closing submissions from both Mr Roberts-Smith’s lawyers and those acting for Nine - and there’s still another week to go.

The Federal Court, on Thursday, released dozens of exhibits tendered during the 100-plus days of evidence.

Some were previously classified by the Department of Defence, others kept out of the limelight because they divulge intimate information about the soldiers and civilians who have testified in the case.

Recently released messages from Emma Roberts, the then-wife of Ben Roberts-Smith, showing her suspicions about his alleged affair. Picture: Federal Court of Australia

Messages appearing to show Ms Roberts speaking with a friend about suspicions of Mr Roberts-Smith and his phone during an alleged affair. He insists he was separated during the romance. Picture: Federal Court of Australia

ROBERTS-SMITH’S ALLEGED MISTRESS CALLS OFF AFP PROBE

Among the documents is an email chain between Australian Federal Police investigators and Mr Roberts-Smith‘s alleged mistress after she reported the war hero had struck her in the face.

Nine claims the woman, known as Person 17, was having a secretive and intense relationship with Mr Roberts-Smith and angered him when she nearly revealed their affair to military top brass at a Canberra party.

The newspapers claim she fell down a staircase, drunk, while leaving Parliament House and Mr Roberts-Smith, angered by her display, punched her in the face back at their hotel.

He denies that claim and told the court he was separated from his wife, Emma, during his relationship with Person 17.

The newly released emails show the AFP asking a doctor to hand over medical records if they indicate Person 17 had a facial injury after the party.

Person 17, in an email to police, said she did not wish to proceed with her complaint of assault or seek an AVO against Mr Roberts-Smith after speaking with her family and lawyers.

Andrew Hastie MP arrives at court to testify earlier this year. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

HASTIE’S ‘DARK, HAUNTING, UNNATURAL’ AFGHANISTAN

Another document appears to be a ruminating and confronting recollection by SAS veteran and Liberal MP Andrew Hastie.

His statement covers his conflicts with Mr Roberts-Smith, dislike of SAS drinking culture and “the darkness” enveloping the military in Afghanistan.

“Guys had been desensitised over time,” Mr Hastie wrote.

“There was a callousness about their view of the enemy. I don’t judge them for that… Many of them had lost friends and had their friends wounded.”

“There were days were (sic) I felt it was a closed universe where you could make up your own morality on the grounds you wanted to, and it was a dark and haunting and incredibly unnatural feeling.”

New pictures of a weapons cache, including an AK-47, found by the SAS in October 2012. Soldiers have claimed an Afghan was executed after a similar cache was discovered that month - Mr Roberts-Smith denies that claim. Picture: Federal Court of Australia

Nine alleges Mr Roberts-Smith ordered a man to be executed by Afghan soldiers after such a cache was found. The SAS witnesses have testified for and against that claim - which the Victoria Cross recipient denies. Picture: Federal Court of Australia

Taliban weapon and supply caches were extensively documented and destroyed by the SAS and soldiers have been questioned on specific discoveries and equipment. Picture: Federal Court of Australia

Mr Hastie railed against the “brokenness” of military policies which “incentivised bad behaviour”.

He recounted a disturbing moment where he found his soldiers severing the hands of dead enemies and the time an Afghan magistrate advised him to just execute a captive.

“There is no room left in the goals, you should just shoot him here and be done with it,” Mr Hastie wrote, noting he reported the advice up the chain of command.

“Everyone looked at R-S as a hero. When guys like that are honoured so publicly it is damaging to the way people think,” Mr Hastie wrote.

Mr Hastie was questioned extensively about one paragraph in the writing where he dreamt of Mr Roberts-Smith and the Australians killing one of their own men and covering it up.

“It is not what I have seen but what I have heard and the moral trauma calling to account that will ultimately come to some people,” the MP wrote.

A Taliban compound known as Whiskey 108, crucial to the case, moments before an airstrike. Picture: Federal Court of Australia

The 500-pound bomb hitting Whiskey 108. Picture: Federal Court of Australia

The aftermath witth a red circle showing the point of impact. The raid is crucial because Nine claims two executions took place minutes later. SAS witnesses have contradicted one another on who could see what in the fading light and chaos. Picture: Federal Court of Australia

ON THE GROUND WITH THE SAS

High resolution photographs give a closer look at two key missions that are completely key to the case.

The first is the town of Darwan, a remote village in the hills that was suspected to be harbouring a traitorous Afghan soldier known as Hekmatullah.

The clearest look at the remote village of Darwan, Afghanistan, seen in the case so far. The town is the alleged cliff kick and execution site of farmer Ali Jan which Mr Roberts-Smith totally denies. Picture: Federal Court of Australia

Nine’s key witness claims Mr Roberts-Smith watched on as a third SAS soldier executed the injured Afghan at point G on the image. Both Mr Roberts-Smith and the third soldier say Nine’s key witness is wrong and unstable. Picture: Federal Court of Australia

The SAS raided Darwan, in September 2012, trying to capture or kill Hektamullah after he murdered three Australian Diggers in cold blood as they played cards in their base two weeks earlier.

Mr Roberts-Smith is accused of kicking an unarmed farmer down a cliff in Darwan - a claim he totally denies.

SAS Person 4, perhaps Nine’s key witness for their murder allegation, marked the photograph showing the point his best mate, another SAS soldier, allegedly executed the badly injured farmer.

The second set of photographs, also marked up by SAS witnesses, is the fiery moment a 500-pound US bomb lands on a Taliban compound in 2009.

The compound, known as Whiskey 108, is allegedly the site of a double execution.

The moment SAS troops raided the Taliban compound known as Whiskey 108 revealed by The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Roberts-Smith denies machine gunning one captured Afghan at Whiskey 108 and further denies ordering Person 4 to execute a second captive.

The Daily Telegraph has previously unearthed unseen on-the-ground photographs of the raid on Whiskey 108 which shows the chaos that followed the air strike.

Mr Roberts-Smith arrives at court on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

TRIAL CLOSING CONTINUES WITH CLAIMS OF THREATS, COLLUSION

Nine‘s barrister Nicholas Owens SC, on Thursday, continued closing his case in the marathon trial by airing claims Mr Roberts-Smith flew around the world to “collude” with his old SAS mates on Darwan and Whiskey 108.

Mr Owens claimed Mr Roberts-Smith was called to testify in a secret war crimes inquiry in December 2019 and, in the weeks after that interview, he visited New Zealand, the United States and Perth.

At each destination, Mr Owens claimed, he visited his “closest friends” in the case.

“He travelled the world to meet those witnesses face-to-face, and we submit the only plausible inference is at least some of their time together would have been spent discussing the substance of what they recall about the missions,” Mr Owens said.

“(Those meetings) reveals clear evidence of collusion on a significant scale between, critically and centrally, Mr Roberts-Smith (and his friends)”

Each of the men he allegedly visited has also been accused of war crimes by Nine - each has totally denied the allegations.