Ben Roberts-Smith receives a medal from King Charles despite the court finding he took part in war

Published: Jun 28, 2024 Duration: 00:04:25 Category: News & Politics

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struggling with blood sugar levels ready to shed those extra pounds effortlessly look no further sugar Defender the number one raided blood sugar formula is here to transform your health and help you achieve your Wellness goals click the link in the video description to get started with sugar Defender today Fallen military hero Ben Robert Smith who spectacularly failed to clear his name from war crime allegations has received a special honor from King Charles III in a formal ceremony Mr Robert Smith was seen attending the event at Western Australia's government house on Thursday along with his parents to receive a King Charles III coronation medal which the Monarch decreed should go to all living Victoria Cross recipients despite receiving that honor Mr Robert Smith last June suffered a stunning loss in an AM Marathon defamation trial where a federal court judge found that war crimes claims made against him by nine newspapers were substantially or contextually true those claims included that as an sas Commander Mr Robert Smith kicked an Afghan prison off a cliff in September 2012 ordered the execution of an amputee and was implicated in three other executions of unarmed prisoners Mr Robert Smith was awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia Australia's highest military honor after his actions in the 2010 Battle of tzk he was seen outside the residence of wa Governor Chris Dawson on Thursday also in attendance was his father retired Major General and former Supreme Court Judge Len Robert Smith it was unclear if Mr Dawson was involved in the event and he has refused to answer questions about it the office of Governor General David Hurley a former Chief of the Defense Force said in a statement that the decision to award medals was made by Buckingham Palace and did not involve Australia's Royal Representatives prime minister Anthony albanes also made clear on Saturday the decision to recognize Robert Smith was made by the king and not his government this was the decision of the palace to give all Victoria Cross recipients a further award he said in an interview with weekend today on Channel 9 there's ongoing legal action on these issues so given the government's engagement it's important that there not be interference in that but it certainly wasn't a government decision Queensland Governor Janette young tweeted a photo of herself with her State's recipients of the King Charles III coronation medal she said the presentation was in keeping with his majesty the kingk wish for living Australian recipients of the Victoria Cross Victoria Cross for Australia George cross and cross of Valor to receive it nine newspapers cited an unnamed military official who said Mr Robert Smith could decline or not receive the medal in person in recognition of the controversy that now dogs him following the federal court loss last year in that decision Justice Anthony bko ruled that all the claims made by nine newspapers and federal capital press that Robert Smith insisted were defamatory are either substantially or contextually True Justice bko also found imputations related to domestic violence had contextual truth even though Mr Robert Smith's former mistress person 17's evidence was not sufficiently reliable to find an assault had occurred however the judge said the allegations along with the contention that the ex- soldier was a hypocrite for posing as a DV campaigner were contextually true the judge found there was substantial truth in the claims Mr Robert Smith had pushed an innocent villager off a cliff in darwan in southern Afghanistan then ordered his execution there was also substantial truth Mr Robert Smith had shot dead and unarmed after began with a prosthetic leg and ordered a young soldier at the Taliban compound whiskey 108 to shoot an innocent villager to blood the rookie Mr Robert Smith has appealed the findings with hearings held in February and a judgment expected shortly the incidents are believed to be currently under the microscope of the Department of Defense commissioned Inspector General of the Australian Defense Force EAD Afghanistan inquiry known as the brittin report it is probing allegations about possible breaches of the law of armed conflict by members of the Special Operations task group in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2016 so far one SAS Soldier has been charged with war crimes Australian Defense Force Chief Angus Taylor has recommended to defense minister Richard merley that a group of Special Forces commanders be strict of their medals over the misconduct of the units the failure of Mr Robert Smith is defam

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