Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated living soldier, has been arrested at Sydney airport and charged with five counts of war crime murder. The charges relate to three incidents in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012, involving the deaths of Afghan nationals who were allegedly detained, unarmed, and under the control of Australian Defence Force members.
The 47-year-old former SAS corporal was taken into custody on Tuesday morning after arriving from Brisbane. He spent the night in a cell at Silverwater prison and is due to appear in bail court on Wednesday. The maximum penalty for the offence is life imprisonment.
Roberts-Smith previously lost a high-profile defamation case against three newspapers that accused him of murdering unarmed civilians and bullying comrades. A federal judge found on the balance of probabilities that he had committed four murders, including kicking a man named Ali Jan off a cliff and ordering another soldier to shoot him dead. His appeals to the full federal court and the High Court were unsuccessful.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett confirmed the charges, stating that the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their deaths. The Office of the Special Investigator noted the challenges of investigating crimes in Afghanistan, including the inability to access crime scenes or conduct post-mortems due to the distance and security situation.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declined to comment, saying he did not want to prejudice the legal proceedings.
