Ben Roberts-Smith to call ex-SAS member alleged to have committed war crime as his first reply witness in defamation trial

A former Australian SAS soldier alleged by three newspapers to have ordered the execution of an unarmed elderly man in Afghanistan will be the first witness-in-reply called by Ben Roberts-Smith in his war crimes defamation trial.

Roberts-Smith, a recipient of the Victoria Cross, is suing the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times for defamation over a series of ­reports he alleges are defamatory and portray him as committing war crimes, including murder.

The newspapers are pleading a defence of truth. Roberts-Smith denies any wrongdoing.

Person 5, a former SAS patrol commander, was part of a raid on a compound known as Whiskey 108 in the village of Kakarak in Uruzgan on Easter Sunday 2009.

The court has also heard previous evidence about premeditation. One soldier witness, known as Person 24, told the court that hours before the Whiskey 108 assault, he saw Person 5 in the SAS headquarters.

Person 4 has already given evidence in this trial, spending five days in the witness box.

After intense legal debate, Justice Anthony Besanko ruled he should not be compelled to respond.

Another SAS soldier, Person 41, has given a slightly differing account of the alleged murder of the elderly Afghan man, alleging it was Roberts-Smith who gave the order he be executed.

He said Roberts-Smith was no longer in the courtyard, but Person 4 was standing above the Afghan male, who was dead from a single bullet wound to the head.

In his testimony, Roberts-Smith maintains the execution could not have happened because there were no people discovered in the hidden tunnel in the compound courtyard.

A year after the Whiskey 108 raid, Person 5 served alongside Roberts-Smith at the battle of Tizak, for which Roberts-Smith was decorated with the Victoria Cross. Person 5 was awarded the Star of Gallantry for his actions in that battle.

Roberts-Smith has listed up to 30 potential witnesses-in-reply, but he is expected to call about half that number. Their evidence is likely to take a month.

Roberts-Smith himself can also take the stand again, but only to address allegations or issues that were not raised during his first 11 days giving evidence.