Australia’s most decorated soldier has rejected accusations he drank out of the prosthetic leg of an unarmed Afghan man after he was gunned down, in a lengthy interview with a radio shock jock.
Ben Roberts-Smith, a former SAS soldier, was arrested in April and charged with the war crime offences of murdering or ordering the murders of five unarmed detainees while deployed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.
Sydney’s 2GB host Ben Fordham has presented extended extracts of a 2.5-hour interview in which he asks Roberts-Smith explicitly if he shot civilians during his service.
“I didn’t bloody murder anyone,” the 47-year-old said in extracts aired on Thursday morning.
In a series of rapid-fire questions, Roberts-Smith bluntly denied the accusations levelled against him.
“Did you shoot prisoners?” Mr Fordham asked.
“No,” Roberts-Smith replied.
“Did you see anyone else shooting prisoners?”
“No.”
A Federal Court judge previously found Roberts-Smith was responsible for a number of killings in a blockbuster defamation trial against Nine newspapers.
Justice Anthony Besanko found Roberts-Smith machine-gunned an unarmed prisoner in the back during a 2009 raid on a compound codenamed Whiskey 108, taking the man’s prosthetic leg back to Australia to use as a beer drinking vessel.
But Roberts-Smith bluntly rejected allegations he drank from it.
“I didn’t drink out of it, which is just the truth. I did not and that’s for personal reasons,” he told Mr Fordham.
“The dark humour that … military organisations rely upon to maintain their sanity will sometimes be misconstrued.”
Former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon was quick to lend his support to the soldier, ringing in to Mr Fordham’s show to express his sympathies.
“What the system has done to him is an absolute disgrace,” the now-lobbyist said on Thursday.
He criticised the lack of forensic weight attached to the allegations levelled against him “rather than spend hundreds of millions of dollars pursuing our war heroes.”
In the wide-ranging conversation conducted in Queensland on October 8, and due to be published in full on YouTube later on Thursday, Roberts-Smith said he conducted himself professionally in the theatre of war.
“I wouldn’t change a single thing. I would do it all exactly the same way because I know that I did the right thing,” he said on Thursday.
“I know I did whatever I could to keep my mates alive.
“But I never broke the rules of engagement.”
At times emotional and choking back tears when discussing members of his battalion killed during service, the former SAS soldier insisted he did not partake in extrajudicial killings.
“I’ve never committed a war crime in my military career,” he said.
“I’ve never murdered a prisoner, and everything I did was inside the laws of armed conflict.”
The Victoria Cross recipient is accused of machine-gunning Afghan prisoner Mohammed Essa and ordering the execution of his son Ahmadullah to “blood the rookie” during a raid at a compound in April 2009.
The then-SAS soldier allegedly placed firearms on the bodies to falsely claim they were enemy combatants, court documents said.
In August 2012, at the village of Darwan, Roberts-Smith is accused of kicking a handcuffed man named Ali Jan off a 10-metre cliff before ordering that he be dragged to a creek bed and shot.
Two months later at Syahchow, he allegedly lined up two prisoners in a corn field before shooting one of them with another soldier.
He ordered a subordinate to shoot the other prisoner before throwing a grenade on the bodies to cover up what he had done, prosecutors allege.
“All I’m asking for is a fair shake, mate,” Roberts-Smith said regarding the ongoing court case.
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His peers & subordinates say they witnessed that he did, Federal & High Court of Australia agree with these witnesses, that’s good enough for me & soon our legal Jury system in a Law court will decide, which will also be good enough for me
Did you ever think that jealousy over the VC could be behind the so called witness testamony?None of us will ever really know the truth and good luck trying to get soldiers to join the SASR if this kind of villification is in their future.
How many wars have you served in?
I hope the day never comes when people like you are expected to protect our country. Do you think, that in the heat of battle, you have time to stand there and ponder whether he is an enemy, ready to kill you and your mates or release a hand grenade. I’ll take Ben and his men any time.
I totally agree. It cannot have all been fabricated. Is it possible that BR-S suffers from a type of amnesia whereby he truly believes that he is innocent.
Who is this guy - was he ever in the army or is he just someone who really shouldn't have an opinion. His supposed subordinates were bribed to tell lies and promised their names would never be released - well they will be soon!!. Are we guilty once again of the tall poppy syndrome?
KS
Kenneth S.
22 Oct 2026
His peers & subordinates say they witnessed that he did, Federal & High Court of Australia agree with these witnesses, that’s good enough for me & soon our legal Jury system in a Law court will decide, which will also be good enough for me
Having met Ben and spent time hearing his story in the hellhole of Afghanistan, I can say the man's integrity and honesty are impeccable. He is innocent of all charges.
This disgraceful witch hunt by the media just reeks of nothing more than character assassination. The Ch9 court case was nothing more than a kangaroo court; it proved nothing, but highlighted a level of gutter journalism. Witnesses bought off, others given hush money- says it all- and a verdict of "possible"; what a joke that judge was, disgraceful. Our legal system is a farce now; it cannot be trusted to deliver fairness. The upcoming cort case is the same BRS has been disadvanted in his defence already with this attrcios govermt caping his defense spend , and the goverment has no , dont tell me thats a fair judicial system. It's not. Australians don't realise how bad the legal system has become.
I thought this trial would be covered by subjudice , he should also be charged with contempt of court , trying to win any potential juror over before the trial is a low act
I understand that many so called witnesses, in the trial, will turn out to be people our soldiers fought against.
Don’t you think that will be biased?
I also understand there are two levels to the rule of engagement
1/- gun fight - kill or be killed
2/- A list from high command. Shoot on sight, armed or unarmed.
The treatment of BRS by people who haven't had the guts to don a uniform engage in this type of warfare is absolutely disgusting. Those people don't have the faintest idea what it is like to engage with an enemy that does not wear a uniform, an enemy that will shake your hand and share a meal during the day and be prepared to slit your throat that night. Drop these ridiculous charges.
He's trying to pursue this in the court of public opinion because he knows he's toast in a court of law.
He has been trialled by the media - guilty until proven innocent! It is disgusting how this man has been treated. He is innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt and there is plenty of reasonable doubt! This man is a hero no matter what some terrorist or jealous man thinks. I wonder what people who condemn him without ever being in a war zone would do? Shame on you all!
I wonder how many of these noble people commenting here have ever experienced been in a combat zone or been even vaguely close to one. I have and it is not a Sunday picnic making freinds in the park. Just saying.
Yes, the noble armchair lawyers. What a wonderful species they are, willing to believe anything that the media reports with unwavering certainty…no knowledge and no clue. For those of you who will sit back and judge a man who was trained mercilessly to become a member of what is arguably the most professional, and deadly, military unit in the world, you should put up, or shut up. Do you know anything about Afghanistan? Probably not. Do you know why it’s called the graveyard of armies? Probably not…it’s because everything in that place works against ‘invaders’, the terrain, the weather, and the people. There are few people in that country who wouldn’t stick a knife in your back when the Taliban has threatened their family. When the Taliban asks farmers to lure ‘invaders’ into traps, or provide intelligence for them…they can’t say no. THEN our government drops our most elite soldiers into that environment and asks them to be Policemen, and social workers. How do you really think that is going to work out?…it’s a whole bunch of our bravest troops coming home in body bags. That environment is kill, or be killed. War is not only a terrifying thing, it is fluid and ever changing; the local ‘farmer’ working with you one day, is just as likely to shoot you in the back the next…stop trying to apply social norms to a combat zone.
And as for you people who state that what a jury decides ‘is good enough for me’, well time to wake up and smell the roses. I’ve worked in and around the judicial system for nearly 40 years, if you think that 12 people are always going to make the correct decision, I’ve got news for you. The decisions are only as good as the evidence that is provided, when you have people who are willing to lie, or fabricate evidence, the the jury can only decide on what is put before them…and that decision will be wrong. In this case you have a media hunting a big story, and a government/military, trying to cover their own backsides…millions, upon millions of dollars have been poured into this effort to convict one man, all so the media can have it’s story, and our government/military officials can point their fingers and cry “He did it!!”
People are willing to believe anyone else from this ‘war zone’, but not the ones who say it didn’t happen, or who support BRS. You will sit there and declare he’s a war criminal because of what a bunch of paid witnesses say about him…that’s right people, most of these witnesses have been PAID by the media, and investigators for their evidence. This information was out there for all to see when this witch-hunt first began, however many people have chosen to forget it. If you think the investigators and lawyers are the knights in shining armour, you are mistaken, these people are VERY well paid to do a job, and that is to win the case; It’s not about justice. If you want the truth, ask to see the irrefutable evidence, not a bunch of useless footage and testimony from shady characters with their own agendas.
What a load of rubbish - We trained this soldier gave him his orders and then blamed him
What a country we live in - getting like the USA
The US would never treat their soldiers like this. They honour and respect them. Trump is the epitome of this. He is so loyal to all of them, and that respect goes both ways.
Hi, I submitted a comment on BRS yesterday, and it was held for review but hasn’t appeared. I’d like to know why. It was based on my own first-hand experience of meeting and speaking with Ben Roberts-Smith. If there’s a particular part you consider a problem, please tell me and I’m happy to rework it. I’d appreciate a reply.
21 other military personnel said they saw the murders and even ordered a subordinate to murder one. If he is found guity, he should go to jail for a very long time. If it was an Afghani who murdered Australian soldiers, would you like to see justice, even if the Afghani was classified a war hero?
Please get your facts; that claim about the 21 is not true; it's media sensationalism designed to create a belief. You also do not understand that the Afghans follow no rules of engagement; that's what terrorists do. I also challenge you to watch the Ben Fordims interview; it will give you a better understanding.
War is hell and people are killed.
Would the Taliban prosecute their fighters for killing ours????? Of course not!!!!!
It's a bloody disgrace the way Roberts-Smith, who has continually put his life at risk fighting for his country has been shackled with the raw end of a double standard.
I met Ben and spent time hearing his story in Afghanistan, and in my dealings with him I found him honest and straightforward. I can only speak from my own experience, but that’s what I saw.
Nine’s $700,000 payment to a key witness, kept secret until this year, doesn’t sit right with me, and it should concern anyone who cares about open and fair reporting. Another major concern is that the Commonwealth’s legal assistance scheme also caps funding for his defence, and he deserves a level playing field, but the Government doesn'thave any capping.
He has been charged, and in this country everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence and a fair trial. The civil case was decided on the balance of probabilities, while a criminal court needs proof beyond reasonable doubt. Whatever anyone thinks of Ben, it’s wrong for any accused person to wait years for their day in court.
This is a witch hunt. He obeyed orders and rules but the cowardly government changed the rules. He was a soldier in a war zone. As for his peers condemning him, just sour grapes. He was a hard task master and many hated him.
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