ABC defamed former commando Heston Russell in Afghanistan articles, court rules

Federal court finds public broadcaster defamed the former special forces soldier by linking him to war crimes

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Former commando Heston Russell was defamed by the ABC in a series of articles that linked him to war crimes and alleged he left fire and bodies" in his wake during his service in Afghanistan, the federal court has ruled.

Justice Michael Lee on Wednesday found a series of ABC articles and broadcasts defamed Russell by conveying that he was the subject of an active criminal investigation into his conduct as a commando in Afghanistan" and reasonably suspected ... of committing a crime or crimes when he was a commando in Afghanistan".

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