Disgraced war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith lodges legal bid over leaked recording
In audio, McKenzie is heard to the witness that he had been informed about some “useful” details while trying to reassure her on giving evidence in case.
“I shouldn’t tell you. I just violated my f …. ng ethics in doing it, as this has put me in a shitty position now, as if Dean knew it and Peter knew it, I would take my ass … Ng gave me on a plate,” said McKenzie. (Dean Levitan and Peter Bartlett are lawyers of Minterellison, who acted for the newspapers.)
Roberts-Smith’s audition was listened to in the Federal Court more than a year ago, after having caused-e it has a historical defamation against Age AND Sydney Morning Herald.
In June 2023, judge Anthony Besanko discovered that the news of nine ownership had proven to be a civil standard-the balance of the probability-Roberts-Smith was an accomplice for the murder of four unarmed prisoners during the deployment in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.
A civil standard is lower than the criminal standard beyond any reasonable doubt. Roberts-Smith has maintained his innocence throughout his appeal.
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Roberts-Smith launched the appeal in July 2023, a month after Besanko issued his judgment on the defamation case, after a 10-day hearing in February last year.
“My lawyers today submitted a question with the entire court looking for leave: to rely on additional tests, including an audio recording in which a journalist admits that he was informed with my confidential legal strategy and the evidence that my e-mails have been improper accessible over 100 times in 2020 and 2021 and; modifying my appeal lands to include a deviation of justice”, Roberts-Smith.
The former Special Air Service corporal launched the procedure in 2018 for a series of stories that claim to have committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
Besanko rejected the complaint, also finding the news that had shown that Roberts-Smith has the victim of bullying of a colleague soldier.
In the decision, he discovered that the newspapers had demonstrated the civil standard that Roberts-Smith kicked an Afghan disarmed and handcuffed village, identified as a man named Ali Jan, outside a small cliff in Darwan on September 11, 2012, before making a soldier under his command, “Person 11”, to shoot him.
Seven owners and billionaires of the West Media Kerry Stokes have banned Roberts-Smith’s legal fees pursuant to a loan agreement. Stokes agreed to pay the total costs for both sides in the end of 2023 to avoid delivering a tranche of e-mails among the executives of the company relating to the case.
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