Australia’s most decorated living soldier charged amid fierce debate over war crimes allegations

Australian authorities person arrested and charged the country's astir decorated surviving soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, 47, with 5 warfare transgression murders allegedly committed during the warfare successful Afghanistan.

Roberts-Smith, a erstwhile subordinate of the Australian Defence Force, was arrested astatine Sydney Airport connected Tuesday. His apprehension has sparked outcry from a erstwhile Australian premier minister, who argued its unfair to justice the actions of "men successful mortal combat by the standards of mean civilian life." X proprietor Elon Musk besides weighed successful connected the arrest, calling it "insane."

The Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator said Roberts-Smith is being charged successful transportation with the killings of 5 unarmed Afghans successful 3 abstracted incidents betwixt 2009 and 2012. AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett alleged that Roberts-Smith either killed the unarmed Afghans himself oregon instructed a subordinate to termination them. If convicted, Roberts-Smith faces beingness imprisonment connected each charge.

"It volition beryllium alleged the victims were not taking portion successful hostilities astatine the clip of their alleged execution successful Afghanistan," Barrett said during a property conference. "It volition beryllium alleged the victims were detained, unarmed and were nether the power of ADF members erstwhile they were killed."

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FILE - Ben Roberts-Smith arrives astatine the Federal Court successful Sydney connected June 9, 2021. Australia’s astir decorated surviving warfare seasoned lodged an entreaty connected Tuesday, July 11, 2023, against a civilian tribunal ruling that blamed him for the unlawful killings of 4 Afghans. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File) (Rick Rycroft/AP)

The probe into Roberts-Smith began successful 2021, according to Ross Barnett, manager of investigations astatine the Office of the Special Investigator. Roberts-Smith received the Victoria Cross aft storming 2 force instrumentality guns during his 5th circuit successful Afghanistan.

Barnett said astatine the property league that the probe was "under challenging circumstances," fixed that immoderate of the murders occurred good implicit a decennary agone and investigators were incapable to sojourn Afghanistan.

"We don’t person entree to the transgression scenes, we don’t person photographs, tract plans, measurements, the betterment of projectiles, humor spatter analysis, each of those things we would usually get astatine a transgression scene," Barnett said astatine the property conference.

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Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith VC, MG attends a Victoria Cross and George Cross Association Reunion Service astatine St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church connected May 30, 2012 successful London, England. (Max Mumby / Indigo / Getty Images)

While Australia's existent premier curate has yet to measurement successful connected the arrest, erstwhile Australian Prime Minister and person of the Liberal Party Tony Abbott expressed his enactment for Roberts-Smith connected X successful a lengthy post.

"If Ben Roberts-Smith transgressed, wherefore wasn’t this picked up anterior to his gallantry awards and wherefore wasn’t immoderate civilization of brutality towards prisoners detected by his much elder officers, and dealt with quickly, alternatively than being allowed to fester, arsenic has been alleged, for implicit a decade?" Abbott wrote.

Allegations that Roberts-Smith engaged successful warfare crimes began circulating publically successful 2017 and 2018 successful articles published by The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times.

Roberts-Smith filed a defamation suit against the papers, which became Australia's astir costly defamation trial, but successful 2023, a Federal Court justice ruled that 4 of the six execution allegations brought by the papers against Roberts-Smith were legitimate.

In 1 of the allegations ruled to person merit by Justice Anthony Besanko, Roberts-Smith allegedly marched a handcuffed Afghan antheral named Ali Jan disconnected the borderline of a 10-meter cliff. He survived the fall, but Roberts-Smith and his chap soldiers walked down a footpath to conscionable him. Roberts-Smith past ordered a subordinate, known arsenic Person 11 successful court, to sprout him.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 07: Ben Roberts-Smith departs the Federal Court of Australia successful Sydney connected June 07, 2021 successful Sydney, Australia. Ben Roberts-Smith is suing 3 Fairfax newspapers for defamation implicit reports helium committed warfare crimes portion serving successful the Australian Special Air Services successful Afghanistan. Ben Roberts-Smith is Australia's astir decorated surviving worker and a Victoria Cross recipient. (Sam Mooy / Getty Images)

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The High Court dismissed Roberts-Smith's entreaty of the ruling successful September 2025.

The transgression charges against Roberts-Smith stem from a associated effort by OSI and AFP. The 2 Australian agencies person conducted 53 investigations into ADF members tied to warfare transgression allegations successful Afghanistan. Ten of the investigations stay ongoing.