Former special forces operative Heston Russell has filed a lawsuit against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and journalists—Joshua Robertson and Mark Willacy—over articles alleging he was involved in committing war crimes while on deployment in Afghanistan.
In a statement of claim filed with the Federal Court of Australia, Russell’s lawyers pointed to a November article published on the ABC’s website that alleged he was suspected of committing war crimes by the Department of Defence and Office of the Special Investigator.
