Former Special Forces commando Heston Russell opens up on defamation lawsuit with ABC in Spotlight interview

The ABC has been forced into an embarrassing concession over its reporting of the war in Afghanistan, amid claims extra gunshots were added to a video of Australian soldiers shooting from a helicopter.

In a statement to 7NEWS Spotlight, the national broadcaster said it had removed an online video — which used a 15 second portion from a longer clip that the ABC alleged showed Special Forces commando Heston Russell trying to kill unarmed Afghan civilians.

It came as the Spotlight team reported discrepancies in audio analysis of the clip aired by the ABC as part of a package on Russell, who later successfully sued the media organisation for defamation for $400,000.

Speaking to Spotlight, Mr Russell said the clip showed a member of his team firing a warning shot from the helicopter, after pursuing a pair of enemy insurgents from the air.

“This guy had literally just been on the back of a motorbike with his mate shooting at two of my teams that were on the ground,” he said.

“After the warning shot, this insurgent has run into a compound, and the drone has witnessed him bend over and pick up something. He’s picked up something that looks like a weapon.

“It’s not accusing someone of being a shoplifter, it’s not accusing someone of, you know, jaywalking, it’s accusing Special Forces soldiers of being war criminals.”

Further analysis by a digital audio expert commissioned by Spotlight found an additional five shots were added to a clip used in an ABC report by Mark Willacy over the single warning shot.

“They’ve taken the audio from the six shots and they’ve applied it to this video in the news clip, and they’ve copied and pasted across this scene,” audio analyst James Raper said.

“It completely misrepresents what those soldiers were going through that day.”

In a shock statement to Spotlight, an ABC spokesperson said the video had been removed.

“We have removed the online video where an error has been identified, based on preliminary inspection of the audio,” an ABC spokesperson said.

“The ABC is seeking more information on how this occurred.

The stories were produced by the ABC’s special investigation’s unit, headed by Jo Puccini and award-winning reporter Mark Willacy.

“Jo Puccini, Mark Willacy and Josh Robertson had no role in the production and editing of the online video you have brought to our attention,” the spokesperson said.

“Any suggestion that they have acted inappropriately or unethically is completely false.”

Mr Russell said he had brought the full video from his helmet cam to the ABC’s attention, which he said had not been acknowledged by the national broadcaster.

The ABC also reported Mr Russell as the one shooting at the insurgents, something he denies.

He claimed a source from the Brereton Inquiry into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan leaked to the ABC he was the shooter, as he had told the investigation it was him — because he had been worked up into an emotional state during his testimony.

Mr Russell took legal action after a series of stories, including another claiming Australian soldiers had executed a bound prisoner during a chopper evacuation 2012.

The 2020 story, from the ABC’s Mark Willacy, was based off a US Marine source.

Despite the source warning Willacy about his “hazy” memory and couldn’t remember “specific enough details”, the comments were used.

The Marine said he had heard a “pop” sound over his helicopter radio, assuming it was a gunshot without seeing the incident.

Mr Russell complained, but the public broadcaster refused to apologise.

Justice Michael Lee later ruled Mr Russell had been seriously defamed, awarding the former soldier $400,000 in damages plus legal fees.

Shadow Communications Minister Sarah Henderson said the story was “a shocking reflection on the ABC and its culture.”

7NEWS Spotlight: Heston Russell — War hero or criminalRewatch on 7plus