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Posted on 10/21/2026 3:45:24 PM PDT by naturalman1975
Former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has questioned whether he can receive a fair trial, giving two major interviews on his dramatic arrest at Sydney Airport, the prospect of life behind bars if convicted on five counts of war crime murder and his defamation loss against the Nine newspapers.
Breaking a years-long silence amid serious allegations he murdered unarmed Afghan civilians and prisoners between 2009 and 2012, the Victoria Cross Recipient said he was unsure a jury could be found that were impartial towards him — but he was “trusting again in the system”.
It comes after his legal team pondered seeking a stay on proceedings, which would halt his trial on the basis it was near-impossible to avoid prejudice.
“I actually don’t know how we find a jury that hasn’t already, to some degree, formed an opinion,” Mr Roberts-Smith told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.
“It doesn’t matter which way, because either way, how do you find people that don’t already have a position, and just in that sense alone, can there be a fair trial?
“We will be able to explain to them the things that they don’t understand about the military enough that when they hear the actual evidence, they will understand where all the holes are. So I’m trusting again in the system, but just having 12 normal people gives me hope, mate.”
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.com.au ...
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He was also an Australian soldier, serving in the Australian Army from 2001-2015 including service as an officer in the SAS.
He is being treated as a witness against Roberts-Smith, and this puts him in a very difficult political position - if he refused to testify (and he is required to do so) that would make it look like he was involved in some sort of cover up. If he does testify, he might be put into a situation where he's forced to cast aspersions on one of Australia's greatest war heroes of the modern era.
“He is being treated as a witness against Roberts-Smith, and this puts him in a very difficult political position - if he refused to testify (and he is required to do so) that would make it look like he was involved in some sort of cover up. If he does testify, he might be put into a situation where he’s forced to cast aspersions on one of Australia’s greatest war heroes of the modern era.”
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It’s the duty of a witness to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, regardless of where that testimony may lead.
As we’ve learned many times before, even the people we crown as “Hero” not infrequently commit criminal acts. They shouldn’t get any more of a pass than anyone else for their actions.
Yes, it is his duty - but that doesn’t mean it won’t cost him politically, and I do wonder how much of what is happening is aimed at making that happen.
Roberts-Smith is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and I also think there’s a very real risk when civilian courts try to examine military actions without understanding of context and conditions.
No one who hasn’t been there is qualified to judge those who have.
Hard to believe that will happen.
Why post a link to a story that no one can read without paying for it?
Some people know how to get around that.
But so much is pay walled now that if I let that stop me posting, a huge amount of information would never get out there.
I have just posted a long article on the same article from a site that I don’t think is paywalled as well.
But I think sharing the article from Australia’s leading major daily newspaper is important to show context.
There’s already been a civil court case and SAS soldiers did give evidence in that one.
As far as I can tell, none of their evidence showed anything on the level of war crimes, but some of it wasn’t complimentary to Roberts-Smith - at least not to civilian eyes.
(I’m a retired Naval officer - so I won’t call myself a civilian, but at the same time, I don’t claim anything like the type of experience SAS soldiers have).
If people are subpoenaed, they are obliged to give evidence.
“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” —Richard Grenier
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The fact that they arrested him in public with presstitutes in attendance after the had already offered to turn himself in tells you this was a political opertiona, not a justice operation.
WRONG!: The witness is obligated to tell the truth, all the truth the attorneys & judge allow; and nothing but the truth, no matter how the lawyers manipulated the allowed answer into a client-serving lie.
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