Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated living soldier, has been arrested and is set to face multiple war crimes charges over the alleged killings of unarmed civilians during deployment in Afghanistan.
The 47-year-old former member of the Australian Defence Force was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday morning, according to the Australian Federal Police. He is expected to be charged with five counts of war crime murder in connection with the deaths of five people in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Roberts-Smith was previously celebrated as a national hero, having received several top military honours, including the Victoria Cross, for his actions during six tours of Afghanistan between 2006 and 2012.
“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 said.
“It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed, and under the control of ADF members when they were killed.”
Police also allege the victims were shot either by the accused or by subordinates acting on his orders and in his presence.
Roberts-Smith has consistently denied wrongdoing during his service, with the allegations first reported in 2018.
Among the claims are accusations that he shot an unarmed Afghan teenager and kicked a handcuffed man off a cliff before ordering that he be shot. He unsuccessfully challenged the reports in what became Australia’s most expensive defamation trial. In 2023, a Federal Court judge ruled that four of the six murder allegations had been proven on the balance of probabilities. A final appeal was dismissed by the High Court in September 2025.
A 2020 report found credible evidence that members of Australia’s Special Air Service Regiment killed dozens of unarmed prisoners during the Afghanistan war.
An investigation into the case was launched in 2021 by the Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator, which was established to examine alleged war crimes by Australian forces.
Ross Barnett, Director of Investigations at the Office of the Special Investigator, said the process has been complex due to the inability to access crime scenes in Afghanistan.
“We don’t have access to the crime scenes, we don’t have photographs, site plans, measurements, the recovery of projectiles, blood spatter analysis — all of those things we would normally obtain at a crime scene,” he said.
Authorities have launched 53 investigations into alleged war crimes involving Australian Defence Force members in Afghanistan, with 10 still ongoing. Another former special forces soldier is expected to face trial next February.
“If the evidence leads to other people needing to be charged, you can be assured that will happen,” Barnett added.
Police said Roberts-Smith will appear before a local court in New South Wales later on Tuesday.
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