‘I don’t recall’: SAS soldier’s mission memory fails him

It should have been one of the SAS soldier’s most memorable missions: his last in Afghanistan ­before going home.

Ben Roberts-Smith. Picture NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

It should have been one of the SAS soldier’s most memorable missions: his last in Afghanistan ­before going home.

Even more memorable, Nine newspapers allege, because he witnessed Ben Roberts-Smith ­execute a terrified adolescent “shaking like a leaf” with a pistol shot to the head.

But on Thursday in the Federal Court, the soldier known as Person 11 could recall almost nothing about the 2012 operation in a village called Fasil, except that he was certain Mr Roberts-Smith did not kill the teenager.

“Mr Roberts-Smith went inside a room in the compound with the adolescent who had been handed to you by Person 16 and shot that person in the head with a pistol,” counsel for the news­papers, Nicholas Owens SC, put to the witness. “That’s not true,” Person 11 replied.

Another member of the patrol, a medic known as Person 16, has given evidence in the defamation case brought by Mr Roberts-Smith against the newspapers that he and another soldier manning a checkpoint stopped a Toyota HiLux ute with four men inside.

After finding bomb-making materials in the ute, they took two of the men into custody: an older man with a full beard and a slightly chubby late teen who was “shaking in terror”.

Person 16 said he handed the men to Mr Roberts-Smith and 20 minutes later heard him call over the radio “two EKIA” (enemy killed in action).

Later, the medic claims, Mr Roberts-Smith told him: “I shot that c..t in the head … blew his brains out. It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

In court, Person 11, who was a member of the patrol and is a close friend of Mr Roberts-Smith, had little recollection of the mission.

“You and Mr Roberts-Smith went and collected some PUCs (Persons Under Control) from Person 16?” Mr Owens asked.

“I don’t recall collecting PUCs, I don’t really recall the mission, Mr Owens,” Person 11 said.

Mr Owens put it to him that the last mission of the rotation would surely have be memorable.

“We were pretty happy to have things wrapped up,” Person 11 said.

“You can remember what happened on this mission, can’t you?” Mr Owens asked.

“No, I can’t,” said Person 11.

Mr Owens: “One of the EKIAs was shot by Person 56, correct?”

Person 11: “That’s not something that I recall, Mr Owens.”

Mr Owens: “I want to put to you that the other EKIA was shot by Mr Robert-Smith. Correct?”

Person 11: “I don’t recall any ­engagements.”

Person 11 was shown photographs of a body alleged to be that of the dead youth but said he did not recognise the person and denied that an AK47 assault rifle was placed on the body to give the false impression he had been armed.

He denied the patrol carried weapons that could be used as “throwdowns” – items that could be planted on bodies to make it ­appear they were combatants.

Mr Roberts-Smith has categorically denied shooting the teenager.