Heston Russell: War hero or criminal?
Former Australian special forces commando Heston Russell knows the meaning of conflict.
With a proud lineage of military relatives, he enlisted in the army at 17 and rose through the ranks to become a highly decorated officer with more than 10,000 hours of leadership in combat operations, including four combat deployments to Afghanistan and a fifth to Iraq to fight against ISIS.
He proved fearless in battle, iron-willed in his personal convictions and prepared to put it all on the line.
As a soldier, Russell led our troops into countless battles and when he retired, he kept fighting. He campaigned for the royal commission into veteran suicide, built charities for soldiers and even ran for a seat in the Queensland senate.
But his toughest fight came several years after his discharge, when Russell became the target of a relentless attack launched by the investigations unit of the ABC alleging that he was the worst kind of soldier – leaving a trail of destruction in Afghanistan and involved in fraudulent behaviour back home.
Russell's battleground this time: the Australian Federal Court, where he spent almost three years fending off the ABC's allegations of war crimes.
So, is he a war hero or war criminal?
Award-wining journalist Liam Bartlett presents this 7NEWS Spotlightspecial investigation.
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows
WWE Premium Live Events
Beginning with the 2014 Extreme Rules Pay-Per-View on 4 May 2014 the WWE began airing all of their Wrestling Pay-Per-Views exclusively on the WWE Network. Subscribers who pay the $9.95 monthly fee will be able to view any Pay-Per-Views past, present and in the future exclusively on the WWE Network at no additional charge as long as their monthly fees are paid up-to-date.
MasterChef Australia
MasterChef Australia is an Australian competitive cooking game show consisting of a group of hopeful contestants that cook and present food to judges in order to win the title of MasterChef Australia.
The First 48
The First 48 follows detectives from around the country during these first critical hours as they race against time to find the suspect. Gritty and fast-paced, it takes viewers behind the scenes of real-life investigations with unprecedented access to crime scenes, autopsies, forensic processing, and interrogations.
The Creep Tapes
Based on a collection of videotapes in the secret vault of the world's deadliest and most socially uncomfortable serial killer, who hires his victims to film him for the day under false pretenses, each episode exposes a new victim from one of the fabled 'Creep Tapes'.