Australia’s most decorated living veteran has been charged with allegedly killing five unarmed Afghans between 2009 and 2012.
Police have not named him but it’s widely reported to be Ben Roberts-Smith, a 47-year-old former SAS corporal.
He was awarded the Victoria Cross and the Medal of Gallantry for his service in Afghanistan – but now faces five counts of war crime murder.
Roberts-Smith was arrested when he landed at Sydney airport on Tuesday.
Police said he had been denied bail and would appear in court for a bail hearing on Wednesday.
“It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed and were under the control of ADF [Australian Defence Force] members when they were killed,” said police commissioner Krissy Barrett
Roberts-Smith is the second veteran to be charged after a 2020 report found evidence Australian SAS and commando troops had unlawfully killed 39 prisoners, farmers and other non-combatants.
Oliver Schulz, 44, is the other former Australian SAS veteran who’s been charged.
He is alleged to have shot an Afghan man in the head three times in a field in Uruzgan province in May 2012. Schulz has pleaded not guilty.
War crime murder in Australian law is defined as the intentional killing of someone not taking an active part in hostilities, such as civilians, prisoners of war or wounded soldiers. It carries a potential sentence of life in prison.
Roberts-Smith sued several newspapers over articles in 2018 that accused him of various war crimes. He has consistently denied allegations of wrongdoing during his service.
But in 2023, a civil court found he had likely killed non-combatants unlawfully, and in September, Australia’s highest court refused to hear his appeal.
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The criminal charges will need to meet a higher bar; proving the allegations beyond reasonable doubt rather than on a balance of probabilities.
Commissioner Barrett said the charges were “not reflective of the majority of members who serve under our Australian flag with honour, with distinction and with the values of a democratic nation”.
