Accuser of hero Ben Roberts-Smith at risk if identified, court told

Lawyers for a woman in a legal battle between Fairfax Media and Ben Roberts-Smith claim she could be killed if identified.

Victoria Cross recipients Ben Roberts-Smith, Keith Payne, Mark Donaldson and Daniel Keighran. Picture: Glenn Hunt

Lawyers for a woman at the centre of a high-stakes legal battle between Fairfax Media and the country’s most decorated ­war veteran, Ben Roberts-Smith, claim she could be killed if her identity is revealed in court.

The woman — referred to in Federal Court documents as Person 17 — is a key witness in defamation proceedings launched by Victoria Cross winner Mr Roberts-Smith against Fairfax over a series of articles he says cast him as a war criminal, a murderer, and a domestic violence offender.

Barrister Clarissa Amato told the Federal Court in Sydney on Friday that media reports Person 17 had complained to police about being assaulted by Mr Roberts-Smith in March had made her a target of extreme abuse and threats of violence on social media.

Ms Amato said some Facebook posts had amounted to death threats, including the comment “the people behind these smears (of Mr Roberts-Smith) should be exposed then hung, drawn and quartered”.

Other posts accused her of lying about the domestic violence claims, ­describing her as a “money-grubbing slag”.

Ms Amato told the court Person 17 was prepared to give ­“detailed and graphic evidence”, including text messages between the pair involving a photo of Person 17 after the alleged domestic violence incident.

She said the only reason Person 17 had not taken further ­action against Mr Roberts-Smith over the incident was because she “held genuine fears for her safety and that of her children” if she was identified.

Ms Amato said Person 17’s relationship with Mr Roberts-Smith, a former SAS corporal, had been “kept secret”. But as a result of the social media “vitriol”, her client was now on medication for panic attacks.

“Quite frankly, she feels mentally and physically unsafe,” Ms Amato told the court.

Mr Roberts-Smith’s barrister, Bruce McClintock, said the ­attempt to have the woman’s name suppressed was “an outrage”. He said there were already “plenty of clues” publicly available that could lead to her being identified after she attended a public dinner event with Mr Roberts-Smith this year.

Mr McClintock said Person 17 had become so drunk that CCTV vision showed her “stumbling” down stairs, injuring herself. He said she later made an “extraordinary allegation of domestic violence” against Mr Roberts-Smith yet now wanted to remain “under the cloak of anonymity”.

Fairfax barrister Sandy Dawson said Person 17 had been assessed as being at “high risk” of homicide or physical assault if she were identified.

The interim suppression order continues.