Verdict in defamation case brought by former Australian soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, against three of Australia’s biggest newspapers over reports they published, claiming he committed war crimes whilst serving in Afghanistan.

Thursday’s verdict comes at the end of a 5-year-long legal fight in a case that has brought the spotlight back on Australia’s decades-long war in Afghanistan.

Reports by the newspapers claim that Roberts-Smith killed six civilians while on deployment in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012, including kicking a handcuffed prisoner off a cliff before ordering him shot dead.

Roberts-Smith, who has been awarded the Victoria Cross, Australia’s highest military honour, is suing for defamation against: The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Canberra Times over reports he alleges wrongly portray him as a war criminal and murderer.

Aljazeera.