A soldier who fought alongside Ben Roberts-Smith at the battle of Tizak, for which Roberts-Smith was awarded the Victoria Cross, has told the Australian Federal Court in an ongoing trial that he killed one of the Taliban machine gunners credited to Roberts-Smith on his medal citation.
During a dramatic and at times emotional three days in the witness box, the decorated former sergeant of Australia’s Special Air Service Regiment, known before the court as Person 4, said he still believed Roberts-Smith was a deserving recipient of the Australian military’s highest honor.
He said that he had “loved him like a brother” and was “reluctant” to give evidence in the trial brought by his former comrade.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Compelled by a subpoena to give evidence for newspapers defending Roberts-Smith’s defamation claim this week, Person 4 told the court that he saw Roberts-Smith kick an unarmed, handcuffed Afghan civilian off a cliff before ordering the badly injured man be dragged underneath a tree where he was shot dead.
Person 4 told the court he had seen Roberts-Smith kick the man in the chest, “catapulting him” off the cliff.
After the Australian soldiers walked down a foot track to the bottom of the cliff, Roberts-Smith ordered him and another subordinate soldier to drag the man under a tree, where he was shot by the other soldier after discussion with Roberts-Smith, he said.
Roberts-Smith has previously told the court this version of events could not have happened because there was no cliff and the man was an enemy spotter, lawfully killed after he was encountered hiding in a field.
Roberts-Smith is suing the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times over reports he alleges are defamatory and portray him as committing war crimes, including murder, as well as acts of bullying and domestic violence.
The newspapers are pleading a defense of truth.
Roberts-Smith denies any wrongdoing.
Roberts-Smith was awarded the Victoria Cross for “most conspicuous gallantry” during a battle at Tizak, in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province, on June 11, 2006.
The court heard, in extraordinary detail, Person 4’s account of fighting side-by-side with Roberts-Smith at Tizak, pinned down by relentless machine gun fire.
“I remember a large sustained machine gun burst tearing up the ground between myself and Ben Roberts-Smith,” he said. “I had an absolute feeling of dread and fear due to the amount of fire we were receiving. Not only accurate fire, but sustained, effective fire.”
The court heard that after a first grenade thrown by Roberts-Smith failed to detonate, a second grenade thrown by a third soldier gave Roberts-Smith, supported by Person 4, a chance to storm machine-gun posts.
Roberts-Smith’s official medal citation says: “Roberts-Smith, with a total disregard for his own safety, stormed the enemy position killing the two remaining machine gunners.”
Person 4 told the court that he and Roberts-Smith, in subsequent discussions in Australia, agreed that Person 4 had killed the first machine gunner with his fire.
“I 100 percent believe I had shot one of the machine gunners when I was providing cover for RS [Roberts-Smith],” he said.
Person 4 said the awarding of medals was “for others to determine” and not his motivation for fighting.
“That action, for me, was the highlight of my professional career purely because I didn’t let them down,” he said. “We both supported each other. We overcame overwhelming odds together.”
Within days of the battle of Tizak, Person 4 said he was told he would be awarded the Victoria Cross.
In subsequent days, the story from comrades in Australia changed to Roberts-Smith would be awarded the medal instead.
Roberts-Smith was invested with the Victoria Cross in January 2011.
It was not until 2013 — two years later — that Person 4 was ultimately awarded the Medal for Gallantry, a lesser decoration, for the same action.
In court, Person 4 agreed he had been “hurt” at not receiving the same level of recognition, not for himself, but for his family.
“I had two children at the time of that action,” he said. “It was for them.”
“I was upset that something as outstanding as what both Ben Roberts-Smith and myself did was politicized,” he told the court. “They could have accepted the fact both of us did as much as each other that day.”
Arthur Moses, a lawyer for Roberts-Smith, put it to Person 4 that he was resentful of Roberts-Smith’s Victoria Cross and subsequent success.
“I loved him as a brother. There’s no resentment there,” Person 4 replied.
“Now you hate him don’t you?” Moses asked.
“Of course I don’t hate him. Believe me, I’m not jealous of him,” Person 4 replied.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
RSS