\n<\/p>\n
Australia’s top court has thrown out a last-ditch attempt by the country’s most decorated soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, to overturn a landmark defamation ruling. <\/p>\n
Thursday’s ruling ends Mr Roberts-Smith’s long legal battle with newspapers he had sued over reports of serious misconduct while he was deployed to Afghanistan. <\/p>\n
A judge in 2023 ruled that news articles alleging the Victoria Cross recipient had murdered four unarmed Afghans were true, but he argued the judge made legal errors.<\/p>\n
It was the first time in history any court assessed claims of war crimes by Australian forces. Mr Roberts-Smith lost an appeal against that judgement and was ordered to pay the newspapers’ legal costs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Mr Roberts-Smith, who left the defence force in 2013, has not been charged over any of the claims in a criminal court where there is a higher burden of proof.<\/p>\n
The 46-year-old argued the killings occurred legally during combat or did not happen at all. He claimed that his life had been ruined by the reports.<\/p>\n
At the time the articles were published in 2018, Mr Roberts-Smith was considered a national hero, having been awarded the Victoria Cross – the highest military honour in Australia – for “the most conspicuous gallantry in action” during an operation to hunt for a senior Taliban commander. <\/p>\n
His seven-year legal battle, which some have dubbed Australia’s “trial of the century”, has reportedly racked up tens of millions of dollars in costs – but ultimately failed to stop his fall from grace.<\/p>\n
After the judgement against Mr Roberts-Smith in 2023, the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, where his uniform and a plaque commemorating his Victoria Cross medal are displayed, added text panel with context of his alleged misconduct and civil defamation case. <\/p>\n
The museum confirmed in May, after he lost his appeal, that it would make further changes to the display.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n