Free Republic

Statement by Benjamin Roberts-Smith VC MG, 19th April 2026For the past 10 years, my family and I have been subject to a campaign to convince Australians that I’ve acted improperly in my service in Afghanistan.As I’ve always maintained, I categorically deny all of these allegations and while I would have preferred these charges not be brought, I will be taking this opportunity to finally clear my name.I’m proud of my service in Afghanistan.While I was there, I always acted within my values, within my training and within the rules of engagement.I’d also like to say I’m extremely proud of all...

Inside a tiny prison cell in Iran, an expert on disaster medicine and a citizen of Sweden named Ahmadreza Djalali is dying. At least, what is left of him is dying. This innocent man has spent four months in solitary confinement on a daily ration of 100 grams of bread. His possessions consist of a thin blanket and a picture of his wife and their two children. A prison photo of Djalali resembles a survivor of Nazi concentration camps. Djalali’s jailers have made it clear to his family that he will die unless Belgium agrees to swap him for Assadollah...

The public outcry around the plight of Brittney Griner is growing louder — and that spells trouble for President Biden, who has been unable to free the basketball star from detention in Russia. Griner wrote to Biden in recent days saying she was “terrified I might be here forever”. Her wife, Cherelle, appears to have lost patience with the administration to take a low-profile approach to Brittney’s jailing. On Tuesday, Cherelle Griner told “CBS Mornings” that it was “very disheartening” not to have heard from Biden directly. Cherelle Griner added: “It kills me every time that, you know, when I...

Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is planning to travel to Russia in the near future for talks aimed at finding a deal to free the detained WNBA star Brittney Griner, a source with knowledge of the proposed trip told ABC News.Richardson, who also served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary in the Clinton administration, played a role in achieving a prisoner exchange in April that saw Russia release former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed after nearly two and a half years in captivity.He is expected to go to Moscow in the next couple of weeks,...

Moscow is preparing a list of U.S. officials it will ban from Russia in retaliation for a White House policy to keep Russian human rights abusers out of the U.S. Russia's Foreign Ministry this week began preparing a list of officials connected to the U.S. apprehension of suspected arms dealer Viktor A. Bout and convicted drug dealer Konstantin Yaroshenko, according to reports in the Russian press. The State Department last month announced that it has a list of Russian officials connected to the 2009 slaying of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky who would be denied visas to visit the United States...