Australia's most decorated living soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, has been arrested by police on allegations of war crimes involving the murder of unarmed civilians in Afghanistan. According to the Australian Federal Police, the 47-year-old former serviceman has been charged with five counts of war crimes related to his deployment in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.
Roberts-Smith was previously awarded Australia's highest military honor, the Victoria Cross, for "conspicuous gallantry" during a 2010 battle against Taliban fighters in Kandahar, Afghanistan. However, starting in 2018, a series of newspaper reports linked him to the killings of unarmed Afghan prisoners by Australian troops.
In 2023, a Federal Court judge found some of the alleged murders proven, leading Roberts-Smith to lose a defamation case against the newspapers. In September 2025, the High Court dismissed his final appeal, paving the way for the criminal investigation to proceed.
Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett stated at a press conference that the charges allege the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their murder in Afghanistan, were detained, unarmed, and under the control of Australian Defense Force members. Specifically, Roberts-Smith is accused of shooting dead an unarmed Afghan teenager and kicking a handcuffed detainee off a cliff before ordering him to be shot.
Australia deployed 39,000 troops to Afghanistan over two decades as part of US- and NATO-led operations against the Taliban and other militant groups. A joint investigation by the Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator into alleged war crimes by some soldiers during their deployment in Afghanistan was opened in 2021. Roberts-Smith's case is one of 53 investigations, with 10 still ongoing.
Ross Barnett, director of the Office of the Special Investigator, said that if evidence leads to other people needing to be charged, that will assuredly happen. Roberts-Smith was arrested at Sydney Airport and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Wednesday.
Source: www.dw.com