Former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has denied murdering civilians or breaking the rules of engagement during his deployments in Afghanistan, in extracts from an interview broadcast by Australian radio host Ben Fordham.
Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated living soldier, was arrested in April and charged with murdering or ordering the murders of five unarmed detainees between 2009 and 2012. He denies the accusations.
Asked directly whether he had shot civilians, Roberts-Smith said: “I didn’t bloody murder anyone.”
In the interview, conducted in Queensland on October 8, Mr Fordham asked whether he had shot prisoners or seen anyone else shooting them.
“No,” Roberts-Smith replied to both questions.
Further extracts from the two-and-a-half-hour conversation were aired on Thursday morning, with the full interview due to be published on YouTube later in the day.
Roberts-Smith denies breaching rules of engagement
The Victoria Cross recipient said he had conducted himself professionally while serving 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.
“I know that I was prepared to die for this country every time I went outside the wire, and I know I did whatever I could to keep my mates alive.
“But I never broke the rules of engagement.”
Roberts-Smith is accused of machine-gunning an Afghan prisoner, Mohammed Essa, and ordering the execution of his son, Ahmadullah, during a raid on a compound in April 2009. Prosecutors allege he ordered the killing to “blood the rookie”.
Court documents allege that firearms were then placed on the bodies to falsely suggest the men were enemy combatants.
In August 2012, at the village of Darwan, Roberts-Smith is accused of kicking a handcuffed man named Ali Jan from a 10-metre cliff before ordering that he be dragged to a creek bed and shot.
Prosecutors further allege that, two months later at Syahchow, he lined up two prisoners in a cornfield and shot one alongside another soldier. He is accused of ordering a subordinate to shoot the second prisoner before throwing a grenade on the bodies to cover up what had happened.
Roberts-Smith said he wanted to be treated fairly during the ongoing court case.
“All I’m asking for is a fair shake, mate,” he said.
