Three Afghan witnesses called to give evidence against war hero Ben Roberts-Smith at his defamation trial did not see the alleged murder of a man called Ali Jan in their village.
Two of the witnesses said they saw Mr Roberts-Smith kick Ali Jan while he was standing above a creek bed, and three said they later heard gunfire and saw his corpse.
Mr Roberts-Smith is suing Nine newspapers over allegations he was involved in six murders during his deployments in Afghanistan with the Special Air Service.
A fourth Afghan, a woman called Bora, was on Nine's witness list in the Federal Court defamation 'trial of the century' but did not give evidence.
Mr Roberts-Smith (right) is suing Nine newspapers over allegations he was involved in six murders during his deployments with the Special Air Service in Afghanistan. Nine alleges Australia's most decorated soldier was responsible for the killing of a man called Ali Jan
Man Gul gave evidence for Nine newspapers about the death of a man called Ali Jan at Darwan. Mr Gul is a corn, wheat, tomato and potato farmer, had spent all his life in Darwan and said Ali Jan was 'a distant cousin'. He did not see Ali Jan shot
Mohammed Hanifa, who has also lived most of his life in the tiny village of Darwan, told the Federal Court on Tuesday a Dr Sharif had been paying for his accommodation, food and transport since earlier this year. Dr Sharif works for representatives of Nine newspapers
Nine has alleged Australia's most decorated soldier was responsible for Ali Jan's murder in the village of Darwan after kicking him off a cliff.
They claim Ali Jan was killed while in custody when Darwan was raided on September 11, 2012 by Australian soldiers including Mr Roberts-Smith.
The SAS had come to the Taliban hideout looking for a rogue Afghan soldier called Hekmatullah, who had shot dead three Australian soldiers a fortnight earlier.
The alleged murder of Ali Jan is the centrepiece claim in a series of stories accusing Mr Roberts-Smith of war crimes Nine newspapers published in 2018.
The Victoria Cross recipient has told the court he did not kick or mistreat any prisoner at Darwan, there was no unlawful killing and there was not even a cliff.
The Afghan witnesses gave their testimony to a Sydney court room from a lawyer's office in Kabul through a Pashto interpreter in Ontario, Canada via audio/visual link.
Each said a local representative for Nine had been paying their family's living expenses since moving to Kandahar, then Kabul, earlier this year.
One of them was accompanied by his wife and five children, another by his wife and six children and a third had 14 relatives with him.
The alleged murder of a man called Ali Jan is the centrepiece claim in a series of stories Nine newspapers published in 2018 accusing Mr Roberts-Smith of war crimes. Mr Roberts-Smith is pictured in Aghanistan in 2006
The Afghan witnesses gave evidence about an Australian raid on Darwan (pictured) in which Ali Jan was allegedly killed. That day SAS troopers came to the village looking for a rogue Afghan soldier who had shot dead three Australian soldiers a fortnight earlier
They all repeatedly denied telling lies about what happened in Darwan on the day Ali Jan was allegedly killed. Three described Ali Jan as a 'martyr' and two called the Australian soldiers infidels.
Shahzad Aka, a farmer who had lived all his life until recently in Darwan, said Ali Jan was his brother-in-law and not a Taliban insurgent.
On the day of the raid he was confronted by soldiers who asked him, 'Show me the Taliban'. He saw a 'tall soldier' go to the house of his neighbour Man Gul where Mr Aka's son Mohammed Hanifa and Ali Jan were tied up.
Mr Aka, who said his eyesight was poor and his age 'could be 60, 70 years', was 250 to 300m away in a hut.
Nine will suggest the 'big soldier' is Mr Roberts-Smith, who is 202cm (6'6") tall.
'I saw that he made Ali Jan stand up,' Mr Aka said of the tall soldier. 'Ali Jan was facing the soldier and then the soldier kicked him and he went down.'
Mr Roberts-Smith, 42, is suing Nine newspapers at the Federal Court trial in Sydney over media reports alleging he was involved in war crimes including murdering prisoners in Afghanistan. He is pictured arriving at court on Monday
The big soldier then walked down a path towards a creek and Mr Aka later heard 'light' gunfire. 'I didn't see the big soldier firing,' Mr Aka said.
Sometime afterwards, Mr Aka went to a cornfield where he said he found Ali Jan's body. He was with Mr Gul and Mr Hanifa.
Ali Jan was lying on his back with bullet wounds to his jaw, chest and arm, according to the witness. 'Some of the flesh was gone with the shots,' Mr Aka said.
Nine alleges Mr Roberts-Smith was involved in covering up Ali Jan's murder and pretending he was a Taliban insurgent by planting a radio on his corpse.
Mr Aka was shown a picture of a body Nine says is Ali Jan lying dead in the cornfield. 'This is Ali Jan,' Mr Aka said. 'They have put wireless device on his chest.'
His neighbour Man Gul also told the court a 'big soldier' was
