Australia charges ex-soldier Roberts-Smith with Afghan war crimes

Charges come after Roberts-Smith lost case against reporters who said he was involved in murders of unarmed Afghan men.

Former Australian special forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has been arrested at Sydney Airport and charged with alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan.

The 47-year-old was charged with five counts of war crimes in connection with the murder of five people in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012, Australian Federal Police (AFP) said on Tuesday. The maximum penalty for each charge is life ⁠imprisonment.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4Australia bans visitors from Iran amid war in the Middle East
• list 2 of 4Australia’s post-Bondi crackdown accused of targeting pro-Palestinian voices
• list 3 of 4Albanese says Australia playing “constructive” role in the war on Iran
• list 4 of 4Court rejects Australian soldier’s defamation appeal over Afghan killings

AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said at a news conference in Sydney that “it will be alleged the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan.”

Police would also allege the victims were shot by the accused or shot by subordinates acting on his orders and in his presence, she said.

Barrett said the charges followed a “complex” investigation by the Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator dating back to 2021.

Bail hearing

The New South Wales local court said Roberts-Smith would appear before the court for a bail hearing on Wednesday.

The arrest comes after Roberts-Smith lost defamation proceedings he brought against journalists who had reported he was “complicit in and responsible for the murder” of unarmed Afghan men.

An Australian judge found in 2023 that those journalists had not defamed Roberts-Smith, a ruling that was upheld by the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia in May last year.

Rawan Arraf, the executive director of the Australian Centre for International Justice, said the arrest was a “significant and long-awaited step for victims and affected communities” in Afghanistan, where Roberts-Smith was deployed multiple times.

“The proper investigation and prosecution of alleged war crimes by members of the Australian special forces in Afghanistan are essential to ensuring justice for Afghan victims and to Australia meeting its obligations under international law,” Arraf said in a statement.

About 39,000 Australian soldiers were deployed to Afghanistan as part of the United States and NATO-led operations against the Taliban and other armed groups over two decades.

Roberts-Smith’s case has drawn considerable scrutiny in Australia, including because before the charges, he had received the Victoria Cross medal for his fifth tour of Afghanistan, and was reportedly the most-decorated living Australian war veteran.

Meanwhile, former Australian army lawyer David McBride remains imprisoned in Australia over his role in revealing information about alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan.

Australian Senator David Shoebridge responded to the news of Roberts-Smith’s arrest by saying “Release David McBride” in a short post on X.