Nine has issued a statement following the Federal Court’s verdict that its mastheads did not defame the former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith. It was also vindicated in its commentary that said the 44-year-old had also committed war crimes. Read B&T’s original reporting HERE.
The statement is in full below and is attributed to James Chessell, Nine’s managing director, publishing and Tory Maguire, executive editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age…
The statement in full
We welcome the Federal Court’s judgement that investigations by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald were correct in their reporting that Ben Roberts-Smith committed war crimes.
The finding by Justice Anthony Besanko today that Roberts-Smith participated in the execution of Afghans confirms our reports that the Victoria Cross recipient breached the Geneva Convention, and is a critical step towards justice for the families of the murder victims.
The judgement is a vindication for journalists Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters, who began reporting this difficult and complicated story more than seven years ago.
It is a vindication for the many people in our newsrooms and our organisation who supported this important public interest journalism.And, most importantly, it’s a vindication for the brave soldiers of the Australian Defence Force’s SAS who served their country with distinction and then had the courage to speak the truth about what happened in Afghanistan.Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters painstakingly pieced together these investigations, and today’s judgement exemplifies how the exhaustive public interest journalism of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald serves our community.
The series of stories at the centre of this trial will have a lasting impact on the Australian Defence Force and how our soldiers conduct themselves during conflict.
Today is obviously a pivotal moment in this story and we are very pleased with the result – but it’s critical to acknowledge that it goes on beyond this judgement. We will continue to hold people involved in war crimes to account.
The responsibility for these atrocities does not stop with Ben Roberts-Smith.
Publishing a story of this magnitude is never easy, but high quality investigative journalism is vital to a thriving democracy.
Nine’s unequivocal backing of this reporting and our defence of it is a clear demonstration of its commitment to quality journalism.
