Throughout a raid on a Taliban compound, particular forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith grabbed an unarmed, older Afghan male by the scruff of his shirt, pressured him to kneel and uttered two phrases to a colleague.
'Shoot him.'
That is in response to the testimony of a serving particular forces soldier, who on Wednesday stated he witnessed the incident in Afghanistan 's Uruzgan province in 2009.
Mr Roberts-Smith, one in all a handful of Australian recipients of the Victoria Cross since 1970, denies the declare, suggesting it is 'outrageous' fabrication and a part of assaults from envious associates out of 'pure spite' that he was awarded the VC.
The previous SAS corporal, 43, is suing The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Instances, alleging he was unlawfully defamed by claims he dedicated alleged struggle crimes in Afghanistan. The newspapers have pleaded a fact defence.
The serving soldier testifying on Wednesday, known as Individual 41, is the primary Australian-based witness referred to as for the media retailers within the defamation trial.
He was concerned within the 2009 mission to a Taliban compound nicknamed Whiskey 108, situated in Uruzgan province.
Individual 41 described stepping over the rubble of a bomb-destroyed wall to enter a courtyard the place Mr Roberts-Smith and different troopers have been standing.
He entered an adjoining room, discovering opium and what he believed was bomb-making tools, earlier than returning to the courtyard to search out Mr Roberts-Smith, one different soldier and a squatting, older Afghan man.
Mr Roberts-Smith and the opposite soldier, codenamed Individual 4, requested to borrow his suppressor.
'I believed it was a wierd request however I complied ... considering he should want it as a result of he is going to enter the tunnel,' Individual 41 informed the Federal Court docket.
However that thought modified, he stated, when Individual 4 fitted the suppressor to his gun and walked with Mr Roberts-Smith again in the direction of the Afghan.
Mr Roberts-Smith grabbed the Afghan man 'by the scruff' of his shirt, marched him to Individual 4 and kicked out the Afghan's legs to drive him to kneel, going through away.
'RS pointed to the Afghan and stated 'shoot him' and stepped to the facet,' Individual 41 informed the courtroom.
The witness stated he stepped again contained in the opium room - 'I did not want to witness what was about to occur' - and heard a single, suppressed shot from a M4 carbine rifle.
He waited one other '15 or so seconds' earlier than strolling again into the courtyard, the place solely Individual 4 remained.
'There was a useless Afghan at his ft.'
So far as Individual 41 might bear in mind, nothing was stated as Individual 4 returned the nice and cozy suppressor to its proprietor.
Mr Roberts-Smith has beforehand testified the suggestion he ordered the person's demise 'shocked' and upset him, as 'my professionalism was being focused by these people and such an outrageous declare was being made.'
He additionally labelled 'fully false' an alternate declare that Individual 4 shot the person at Whiskey 108 on the orders of one other SAS operator, codenamed Individual 5.
The marquee defamation trial resumed on Wednesday in Sydney after a six-month hiatus attributable to a lockdown in NSW and arduous border in Western Australia.
While some journalists can comply with a stay internet stream, it can't be publicly accessed out of concern for potential 'inadvertent disclosure' of nationwide safety data by witnesses, the decide has dominated.
As an alternative, the courtroom will add a redacted recording of every day's listening to to YouTube inside 24 hours.
The newspapers suggest to name two dozen witnesses - about 10 of whom reside in Western Australia.
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