Ben Roberts-Smith’s comrades say he ordered them to execute unarmed civilians, court documents show

Former SAS corporal allegedly placed man on his knees and ordered fellow soldier to shoot him, according to statement of facts Australian soldiers have told prosecutors they executed unarmed civilians at the orders of Ben Roberts-Smith or in complicity with him, according to a statement of facts tendered to the New South Wales local court. Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient and once one of Australia’s most lionised soldiers, faces five charges of the war crime of murder, allegedly committed while he served in the Australian SAS in Afghanistan. Each victim was unarmed and present in a location where Roberts-Smith could reasonably have suspected insurgents to be located; Each offence was committed in a situation where there was no active engagements with enemy forces and the Australian Defence Force was in control of the environment; Evidence was planted or falsely associated with each deceased to enhance reporting that each of the killings were within the lawful rules of engagement; Each deceased was handcuffed, detained for a period, and questioned prior to their execution; None of the deceased was killed in a situation where the Australian Defence Force did not have effective control of the battlespace. Continue reading...