Australian judge rules in civil court war crime allegations against hero soldier proved

SYDNEY (AP) — A judge in a civil case says a decorated Australian veteran unlawfully killed prisoners and committed other war crimes in Afghanistan. The judge dismissed claims by Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith that he was defamed by media who published articles about the allegations in 2018. The allegations included that Roberts-Smith killed a prisoner who had a prosthetic leg, which he kept as a drinking vessel. The accusations also included that Roberts-Smith had kicked a man off a cliff into a riverbed where an SAS colleague shot him to death in 2012. His lawyer asked for time to consider whether to appeal. Roberts-Smith is one of several Australian military personnel under investigation for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. .