ben roberts-smith was arrested at Sydney airport on Tuesday and is now facing five counts of the war crime of murder linked to allegations involving Afghanistan. Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator said the former soldier, 47, was detained after travelling from Brisbane to Sydney and will appear in court on Wednesday. The case follows years of public scrutiny over claims that he was involved in the deaths of unarmed Afghan nationals between 2009 and 2012.
Charges follow arrest at Sydney airport
Police said the allegations relate to three incidents and include one charge of war crime murder, one of jointly commissioning a murder, and three of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring a murder. ben roberts-smith, a Victoria Cross recipient and former member of the Australian Special Air Service Regiment, has denied wrongdoing.
Authorities said he was expected to spend Tuesday night in a cell before a bail hearing on Wednesday. The allegations are serious: police said the victims were detained, unarmed, and under the control of Australian Defence Force members when they were killed.
What investigators say happened
Commissioner Krissy Barrett said it would be alleged that the victims were shot by the accused or by subordinate members of the Australian Defence Force in his presence and on his orders. She did not name him directly during the briefing, but the timing, charges, and arrest were tied to the former soldier detained at the airport.
The Office of the Special Investigator said the probe has been difficult because investigators cannot access the crime scenes in Afghanistan. Ross Barnett, director of investigations, called the arrest a significant step under challenging circumstances and said the case involves alleged murders in a war zone nearly 9, 000km from Australia.
How the case reached this point
A 2023 defamation judgment found that the former corporal had killed several unarmed Afghans, using the civil standard of proof. That ruling did not end the matter, and the new criminal charges mark a separate and higher-stakes stage for ben roberts-smith.
The civil trial was the first time an Australian court examined claims of war crimes by Australian forces. The allegations have remained contested, with the accused repeatedly denying them and describing them as egregious and spiteful.
What happens next
Wednesday’s bail hearing will be the next immediate test in a case that has already drawn national attention. With ben roberts-smith now formally charged, the court process will determine how the allegations are tested in a criminal setting, while investigators continue their wider work on the Afghanistan case.
For now, the focus is on the Sydney court appearance and the evidence behind the five charges. The case against ben roberts-smith is expected to remain under close scrutiny as the legal process moves forward.
