Arrest at Airport
Ben Roberts-Smith, 47, Australia's most decorated living soldier, was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday and charged with war crimes related to alleged murders in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. He will remain in custody and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, according to a police statement. Roberts-Smith is only the second Australian veteran of the Afghanistan campaign to be charged with a war crime.
Details of the Charges
Police charged Roberts-Smith with five counts of war crime murder. The charges allege that the victims were unarmed, detained, and under the control of Australian Defence Force members when they were killed, according to Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett. It will be alleged that the victims were shot by Roberts-Smith or by subordinate members of the ADF acting on his orders.
Prior Allegations
Roberts-Smith was linked to the murders of unarmed Afghan prisoners in reports dating back to 2018. A Federal Court judge found some of the alleged murders proven in a defamation case he brought against newspapers, a ruling upheld after his final appeal was dismissed by the High Court in September 2025.
The sources also report that the Federal Court judge found Roberts-Smith had taken part in at least four murders, including ordering unarmed men to be shot.
The sources also report that Roberts-Smith was awarded the Victoria Cross for a 2010 battle in Kandahar, information omitted from the summary.
The BBC reports that in the defamation case, Judge Anthony Besanko found that Roberts-Smith twice ordered unarmed men shot to 'blood' rookie soldiers and was involved in the death of a handcuffed farmer and a captured Taliban fighter.
The Brereton Report
A landmark investigation known as the Brereton Report found "credible evidence" that elite Australian soldiers unlawfully killed 39 people in Afghanistan, recommending 19 current or former ADF members be investigated. The Office of the Special Investigator was set up to investigate. Ross Barnett, director of investigations at OSI, called Roberts-Smith's arrest a "significant step" under "challenging circumstances."
The sources report that of 53 war crime allegations investigated, 39 investigations concluded without charges, with around 10 investigations ongoing as of the arrest.
Limited Scope
Barrett stated that the allegations of misconduct were confined to "a very small section of our trusted and respected ADF." She added that the majority of the ADF do their country proud. Australia deployed 39,000 troops to Afghanistan over two decades.
Witness Testimony
Nick McKenzie, a reporter who was unsuccessfully sued for defamation by Roberts-Smith, expects SAS colleagues to testify in the criminal trial as they had during the civil trial. McKenzie told Australian Broadcasting Corp that some of the "brave soldiers" broke down after testifying.
Potential Sentence
War crime murder carries a potential sentence of life in prison.
The sources also report that Roberts-Smith allegedly kicked a handcuffed detainee off a cliff and had him shot, as detailed in the defamation case findings.