SYDNEY: Australia’s most adorned soldier was arrested on Tuesday (Apr 7) and charged with 5 counts of battle crime murders regarding the killing of unarmed civilians whereas on deployment in Afghanistan.
Police stated a 47-year-old former Australian Defence Pressure (ADF) member had been arrested at Sydney Airport. Court docket information named the person as Ben Roberts-Smith.
He was charged with 5 counts of battle crimes in reference to the homicide of 5 folks in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012, Australian Federal Police (AFP) stated. The utmost penalty for every cost is life imprisonment.
“It will likely be alleged the victims weren’t collaborating in hostilities on the time of their alleged homicide in Afghanistan,” AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett advised a press convention.
“It will likely be alleged the victims have been detained, unarmed and have been below the management of ADF members once they have been killed.”
Police would additionally allege the victims have been shot by the accused or shot by subordinates performing on his orders and in his presence, she stated.
Roberts-Smith was hailed as a nationwide hero after being awarded a number of prime navy honours, together with the Victoria Cross, for his actions throughout six excursions in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2012.
He has persistently denied allegations of wrongdoing throughout his service, a few of which have been first reported by 9 Leisure newspapers in a sequence of articles beginning in 2018.
Among the many accusations reported have been that Roberts-Smith had shot lifeless an unarmed Afghan teenager and kicked a handcuffed man off a cliff earlier than ordering him to be shot lifeless.
Roberts-Smith, a former member of Australia’s Particular Air Service Regiment (SAS), unsuccessfully challenged the experiences in what turned Australia’s most costly defamation trial, with a Federal Court docket choose ruling in 2023 the newspapers proved 4 of the six homicide accusations they levelled. A remaining enchantment bid was dismissed by the Excessive Court docket in September 2025.
A 2020 report discovered credible proof that members of the SAS killed dozens of unarmed prisoners within the prolonged Afghan battle.
An investigation into the SAS soldier by the AFP and the Workplace of the Particular Investigator (OSI), set as much as study allegations of battle crimes by Australian defence forces in Afghanistan, was opened in 2021.
Ross Barnett, director of investigations on the OSI, stated the method was complicated and time-consuming as a result of authorities have been unable to go to Afghanistan and entry the crime scenes.
“We do not have entry to the crime scenes, we do not have pictures, web site plans, measurements, the restoration of projectiles, blood spatter evaluation, all of these issues we’d usually get at against the law scene,” he stated on the press convention.
The joint OSI-AFP commenced 53 investigations involving allegations of battle crimes by ADF members in Afghanistan, with 10 ongoing. One other former particular forces soldier is because of face trial for battle crime homicide subsequent February, the OSI stated.
“If the proof results in different folks needing to be charged, you will be assured that can occur,” Barnett added.
Amnesty Worldwide stated Roberts-Smith’s arrest was a “vital step towards international justice and accountability efforts”.
“Australian authorities should now guarantee all credible allegations are absolutely investigated and, the place acceptable, prosecuted,” stated Zaki Haidari, Amnesty Worldwide Australia strategic campaigner.
Police footage confirmed officers escorting Roberts-Smith off a flight upon arrival at Sydney Airport and right into a police automotive ready on the tarmac.
Native media reported that he had travelled to Sydney from Brisbane along with his girlfriend and two teenage daughters.
The New South Wales native court docket stated Roberts-Smith would seem earlier than court docket for a bail listening to on Wednesday.
Roberts-Smith’s lawyer for his defamation trial didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
