Page:Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited (No 41) (2023, FCA).pdf/18

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which appear on the SMH website. The Age is the publisher of The Age and Sunday Age newspapers and of articles which appear on The Age website. The Federal Capital Press is the publisher of The Sunday Canberra Times newspaper and of articles which appear on The Canberra Times website. The three proceedings relate to articles published in both the newspapers and on the websites in June and August 2018. The proceedings against each of Fairfax Media and The Age involves six articles and the proceedings against the Federal Capital Press involves four articles.

4 Each of the respondents published articles on or about 9 June 2018. Fairfax Media and the second and third respondents published articles in the SMH newspaper on 9 June 2018 entitled "SAS's Day of Shame" and "Troops kept 'kill board': SAS's Day of Shame". They published an article on the SMH website on 8 June 2018 entitled "Abdul's brother went out to buy flour. He never came home". The Age and the second and third respondents published an article in The Age newspaper on 9 June 2018 entitled "SAS's Day of Shame" and "Did the SAS kick a cuffed man off cliff?" They published an article on The Age website on 8 June 2018 entitled "Abdul's brother went out to buy flour. He never came home". The Federal Capital Press and the second and third respondents published an article on The Canberra Times website on 8 June 2018 entitled "Abdul's brother went out to buy flour. He never came home". These articles referred to a soldier known as "Leonidas" and contained allegations that an Afghan detainee was kicked off a cliff by Leonidas and subsequently executed. The articles have different headlines and some distinct sections, but they are substantially similar. It is convenient to refer to these articles as the "Group 1 articles".

5 On 10 June 2018, Fairfax Media and the second and third respondents published an article in The Sun Herald newspaper entitled "Special forces rookie 'blooded' by executing an unarmed man". They also published an article on the SMH website on 9 June 2018 entitled "Special forces rookie 'blooded' by executing an unarmed man". On 10 June 2018, The Age and the second and third respondents published an article in The Sunday Age newspaper entitled "Blood Ties". They also published an article on The Age website on 9 June 2018 entitled "Special forces rookie 'blooded' by executing unarmed man". The Federal Capital Press and the second and third respondents published two articles on 10 June 2018. They published an article in The Sunday Canberra Times newspaper on 10 June 2018 entitled "S.A.S. rookie told to shoot unarmed man". They also published an article on The Canberra Times website on 10 June 2018 entitled "Special forces rookie 'blooded' by executing an unarmed man". These articles also referred to a soldier known as "Leonidas" and contained a number of allegations,


Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited (No 41) [2023] FCA 555
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