Brace yourself

With the verdict in the high-profile Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case, watch for possible efforts to institute war crimes proceedings against former members of the Australian Defence Force. Details here. Excerpt:

The civil trial was the first time a court has assessed accusations of war crimes by Australian forces.

A judge said four of the six murder allegations - all denied by the soldier - were substantially true.

These included:

A handcuffed farmer the soldier had kicked off a cliff - a fall which knocked out the man's teeth, before he was subsequently shot dead

A captured Taliban fighter who was shot at least 10 times in the back, before his prosthetic leg was taken as a trophy and later used by troops as a drinking vessel

Two murders which were ordered by Mr Roberts-Smith to initiate or "blood" rookie soldiers.