Melbourne — Australian Ben Roberts-Smith, the recipient of the Victoria Cross, claimed that the media falsely accused him, but a judge concluded on Thursday that he unlawfully killed captives and committed other war crimes in Afghanistan.

Roberts-Smith, a former Special Air Service Regiment corporal who is currently a media firm executive, is accused of committing a series of war crimes, according to publications published in 2018. Federal Court Justice Anthony Besanko determined that these articles were essentially factual.

Besanko concluded that Roberts-Smith, who received the Medal of Gallantry for his contributions during the Afghanistan War, had “broken the moral and legal rules of military engagement” and had dishonored Australia with his actions.

The decision, which came after a contentious trial that lasted 110 court hearing days and is estimated to have cost more than 25 million Australian dollars ($16 million) in legal bills, is viewed as a landmark victory for press freedom against Australia’s draconian defamation rules.

A machine gun was allegedly used by Roberts-Smith, a judge’s son, to shoot a detainee wearing a prosthetic leg in the rear in 2009 in a Taliban base in the province of Uruzgan known as Whisky 108. He retained the man’s prosthetic to use as a fun beer mug.

The man was one of two unarmed Afghans taken from a tunnel by Roberts-Smith’s patrol. To “blood the rookie,” Roberts-Smith forced a “newly deployed and inexperienced” soldier to murder the second, more seasoned warrior.

The decision came after a contentious trial that lasted 110 court hearing days and is estimated to have cost more than 25 million Australian dollars ($16 million) in legal bills.

In addition, it was established that in the Afghan hamlet of Darwan in 2012, Roberts-Smith kicked an unarmed, handcuffed farmer named Ali Jan off a cliff and into a riverbed before killing him. Then Roberts-Smith ordered one of his soldiers to shoot Jan to death.

Allegations that Roberts-Smith, who is 2.02 meters (6 feet, 7 inches) tall, intimidated soldiers and abused Afghan villagers were also proven genuine.

The judge determined that two of the six unlawful killings Roberts-Smith was alleged to have participated in were not proven by the civil court standard of the balance of probabilities.

Additionally, it was determined that the allegations of domestic violence against Roberts-Smith were false and defamatory. The judge concluded that the unfounded charges would not further harm the veteran’s reputation.

Such claims of war crimes would have required proof beyond a reasonable doubt if they had been made in a criminal court.

The 44-year-old Roberts-Smith has denied any misconduct. His attorneys attributed his termination to “corrosive jealousy” on the part of “bitter people” within the SAS who had waged a “poisonous campaign against him.”

Because of their stories, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times were accused of defaming each other in the civil lawsuit.

One of the journalists, Nick McKenzie, who wrote the divisive articles, commended the SAS veterans who had testified against the national hero.

The day of justice is today. It’s a day of justice for those courageous SAS members who came out and exposed Ben Roberts-Smith for the war criminal, bully, and liar that he is, McKenzie told reporters outside court.

The Australian Federal Police is investigating Roberts-Smith and other Australian military members for possible war crimes in Afghanistan.

“Those SAS members are a proud representation of Australia. The bulk of the SAS stood up for what was right, and their actions were rewarded, said McKenzie.

Arthur Moses, the attorney for Roberts-Smith, requested an additional 42 days to contemplate filing an appeal with the Federal Court’s Full Bench.

Billionaire Kerry Stokes, executive chair of Seven West Media, where Roberts-Smith works, has agreed to pay the case’s legal expenses.

Stokes’s statement in support of Roberts-Smith was, “The judgment does not accord with the man I know.”

Ben has always maintained his innocence, so I know this will be difficult for him, Stokes said.

Roberts-Smith had been there each day of his trial but did not show up in Sydney for the verdict. On Wednesday, media outlets published a picture of him relaxing by a pool in Bali, an Indonesian tourist destination.

The Australian Federal Police is investigating Roberts-Smith and other Australian military members for possible war crimes in Afghanistan.

The first criminal accusation about an alleged illegal killing in Afghanistan was brought in March. Oliver Schulz, a former SAS trooper, was accused of committing a war crime by killing an Afghan in a wheat field in Uruzgan province in 2012.

The Australian Federal Police is investigating Roberts-Smith and other Australian military members for possible war crimes in Afghanistan.

The decision was a “very disappointing day” for the elite unit, according to Martin Hamilton-Smith, chair of the Australian Special Air Service Association. He said that charges against more veterans should be brought immediately if they were tried for war crimes.

According to Hamilton-Smith, the only way to learn the real truth about this is to bring it before a criminal court, where both sides of the story may be presented, and the facts can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

When Roberts-Smith received the Victoria Cross in 2011, Australia’s highest honor for valor in the face of an enemy, he was elevated to a national hero. As a famous Australian, he had multiple meetings with Queen Elizabeth II.

He received the medal 2010 for taking out a machine gun nest at Tizak, Kandahar, during combat. Two machine gunners and an enemy preparing to throw a rocket grenade were killed thanks to Roberts-Smith. No allegations of war crimes related to that conflict.

SOURCE – (AP)

TALLINN, Estonia — Russia and Belarus inked an agreement Thursday that formalizes the deployment of Moscow’s tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of its ally, albeit control of the weapons remains with Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced earlier this year the deployment of shorter-range weaponry in Belarus, which was largely interpreted as a threat to the West as it increased military backing for Ukraine.

The deployment date has yet to be confirmed, but Putin has stated that storage facilities for the weapons will be finished in Belarus by July 1.

It is also unknown how many nuclear weapons Belarus will keep. The US administration believes Russia possesses around 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons, which include aircraft bombs, short-range missile warheads, and artillery rounds.

Tactical nuclear weapons are designed to eliminate enemy troops and weaponry on the battlefield. They have a far shorter range and much lower yield than nuclear warheads mounted on long-range strategic missiles capable of annihilating entire cities.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko warned in Moscow that “the movement of nuclear weapons has begun,” although it was unclear whether any had arrived in his country. Lukashenko, who cut short a Victory Day appearance in Red Square on May 9 before reappearing in public on May 15, was attending a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council with Putin and the leaders of Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

Russia inked an agreement Thursday that formalizes the deployment of Moscow’s tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of its ally.

The agreement was signed as Russia prepared for a counteroffensive against Ukraine. Both Russian and Belarussian officials characterized the move as motivated by Western antagonism.

“The deployment of nonstrategic nuclear weapons is an effective response to the aggressive policy of countries hostile to us,” Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin stated in Minsk during a meeting with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

“In the context of an extremely sharp escalation of threats on Russia’s and Belarus’ western borders, a decision was made to take military-nuclear countermeasures,” Shoigu stated.

Putin has claimed that by stationing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russia was following in the footsteps of the United States, adding that the US has nuclear weapons in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, an exiled Belarusian opposition leader, denounced the move.

“We must do everything possible to prevent Putin’s plan to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus, as this will ensure Russia’s control over Belarus for many years to come,” Tsikhanouskaya told The Associated Press. “This will jeopardise Ukraine’s and Europe’s security even more.”

According to Aliaksandr Alesin, an independent Belarusian military analyst, almost two-thirds of Russia’s stockpile of medium-range nuclear-tipped missiles was housed in Belarus during the Cold War, and dozens of Soviet-era storage bunkers may still be deployed.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, an exiled Belarusian opposition leader, denounced the move.

Following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Soviet nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan were transferred to Russia in a deal negotiated by the United States.

“Documents on the return of nuclear weapons were defiantly signed in Minsk just at the moment when Ukraine declared a counteroffensive and Western countries were handing over weapons to Kyiv,” Alesin told the AP.

“This Belarusian nuclear balcony should dampen the mood of Western politicians, because nuclear missiles can cover Ukraine, all of Poland, the Baltic states, and parts of Germany.”

Khrenin also revealed preparations to “build up the combat potential of the regional grouping of Russian and Belarusian troops,” including the delivery to Minsk of the nuclear-capable Iskander-M missile system and the S-400 anti-aircraft missile system.

Russia and Belarus have a treaty under which the Kremlin subsidizes the Belarusian economy with loans and subsidizes Russian oil and gas. Russia utilized Belarusian territory as a staging area for its invasion of neighboring Ukraine, and it has kept several troops and weaponry there.

SOUrCE – (AP)

MIAMI, Fla. – Lolita, an orca whale held captive for more than a half-century, is being prepared for possible repatriation to her home waters in Washington’s Puget Sound by carers at a South Florida seaside park.

But the move has yet to be finalized, and veterinarians and trainers told WPLG in Miami this week that they’re working with Lolita to ensure she’s strong enough to survive the travel and adjust to her new surroundings.

For years, animal rights advocates have been pushing to have Lolita, also known as Tokitae or Toki, released from her tank at the Miami Seaquarium. The Dolphin Company, the park’s owner, and the nonprofit Friends of Toki revealed a plan in March to relocate the 57-year-old orca to a natural marine habitat with financial support from Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.

Lolita is doing well, according to Jessica Comolli, director of the Miami Seaquarium’s animal health department. Since 2020, the orca has had two health scares but has recovered.

Lolita, an orca whale held captive for more than a half-century.

Lolita stopped performing last spring as part of the park’s new exhibitor’s license with the United States Department of Agriculture. She hasn’t been seen in public since. After taking over the Seaquarium last year, The Dolphin Company CEO Eduardo Albor said they spend more than $500,000 to restore Lolita’s water quality.

New modifications have been completed recently to improve the pool’s filtering and temperature regulation. According to trainer Michael Partica, new chillers may now lower the temperature to resemble the waters of the Pacific Northwest.

Any plan to relocate Lolita would still need to be approved by federal and state regulators, which might take months or years. The 5,000-pound (2,267-kilogram) Lolita fish has spent years in a tank 80 feet by 35 feet (24 meters by 11 meters) in size and 20 feet (6 meters) deep.

SOURCE – (AP)