Australia arrests their war criminals
Australia's most decorated soldier Ben Roberts-Smith charged with war crimes.
By Christine Chen/Reuters
April 6, 202610:07 PM CDT Updated 3 hours ago.
Ben Roberts-Smith arrested in Sydney, denied bail.
Charged with five counts of the war crime of murder.
Alleged victims were unarmed civilians, police say.
SYDNEY, April 7 (Reuters) - Australia's most decorated soldier was arrested on Tuesday and charged with five counts of war crimes relating to the killing of unarmed civilians while on deployment in Afghanistan.
Police said a 47-year-old former Australian Defence Force member had been arrested at Sydney Airport. Court records named the man as Ben Roberts-Smith.
He was charged with five counts of war crimes in connection with the murder of five people in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012, Australian Federal Police said. The maximum penalty for each charge is life imprisonment.
"It will be alleged the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan," AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett told a press conference.
"It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed and were under the control of ADF members when they were killed."
Police will also allege the victims were shot by the accused or shot by subordinates acting on his orders and in his presence, she said.
The AFP said he had been denied bail and would appear in court for a bail hearing on Wednesday.
Roberts-Smith was hailed as a national hero after being awarded several top military honours, including the Victoria Cross, for his actions during six tours in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2012.
He has consistently denied allegations of wrongdoing during his service, some of which were first reported by Nine Entertainment (NEC.AX), opens new tab newspapers in a series of articles starting in 2018.
Among the accusations reported were that Roberts-Smith had shot dead an unarmed Afghan teenager and kicked a handcuffed man off a cliff before ordering him to be shot dead.
Roberts-Smith, a former member of Australia's Special Air Service Regiment (SAS), unsuccessfully challenged the reports in what became Australia's most expensive defamation trial, with a Federal Court judge ruling in 2023 the newspapers proved four of the six murder accusations they levelled. A final appeal bid was dismissed by the High Court in September 2025.
By Christine Chen/Reuters
April 6, 202610:07 PM CDT Updated 3 hours ago.
Ben Roberts-Smith arrested in Sydney, denied bail.
Charged with five counts of the war crime of murder.
Alleged victims were unarmed civilians, police say.
SYDNEY, April 7 (Reuters) - Australia's most decorated soldier was arrested on Tuesday and charged with five counts of war crimes relating to the killing of unarmed civilians while on deployment in Afghanistan.
Police said a 47-year-old former Australian Defence Force member had been arrested at Sydney Airport. Court records named the man as Ben Roberts-Smith.
He was charged with five counts of war crimes in connection with the murder of five people in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012, Australian Federal Police said. The maximum penalty for each charge is life imprisonment.
"It will be alleged the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan," AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett told a press conference.
"It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed and were under the control of ADF members when they were killed."
Police will also allege the victims were shot by the accused or shot by subordinates acting on his orders and in his presence, she said.
The AFP said he had been denied bail and would appear in court for a bail hearing on Wednesday.
Roberts-Smith was hailed as a national hero after being awarded several top military honours, including the Victoria Cross, for his actions during six tours in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2012.
He has consistently denied allegations of wrongdoing during his service, some of which were first reported by Nine Entertainment (NEC.AX), opens new tab newspapers in a series of articles starting in 2018.
Among the accusations reported were that Roberts-Smith had shot dead an unarmed Afghan teenager and kicked a handcuffed man off a cliff before ordering him to be shot dead.
Roberts-Smith, a former member of Australia's Special Air Service Regiment (SAS), unsuccessfully challenged the reports in what became Australia's most expensive defamation trial, with a Federal Court judge ruling in 2023 the newspapers proved four of the six murder accusations they levelled. A final appeal bid was dismissed by the High Court in September 2025.
