A former Australian military member who received his country’s highest honors has been taken into custody on war crimes charges related to killings during his deployment in Afghanistan, according to reports from Sydney.
Ben Roberts-Smith, age 47, was apprehended at Sydney Airport on Tuesday morning by Australian Federal Police. Authorities have charged him with five counts of war crimes for the alleged murders of five individuals in Afghanistan during the period from 2009 to 2012.
Each charge carries a potential sentence of life behind bars, police officials confirmed.
The former soldier had achieved hero status in Australia after receiving multiple prestigious military decorations, including the Victoria Cross, for his conduct during six deployments to Afghanistan spanning 2006 through 2012.
Roberts-Smith has maintained his innocence regarding allegations of misconduct during his military service. These accusations first came to public attention through a series of reports published by Nine Entertainment newspapers beginning in 2018.
The published allegations included claims that Roberts-Smith fatally shot an unarmed Afghan youth and forced a handcuffed individual off a cliff before commanding subordinates to kill him.
In what became Australia’s costliest defamation case, Roberts-Smith attempted to fight the newspaper reports but was unsuccessful. A Federal Court judge determined in 2023 that the publications had substantiated four out of six murder allegations they had made. The High Court rejected his final appeal attempt in September 2025.
A government report released in 2020 documented credible evidence showing that Australia’s Special Air Service Regiment members had killed numerous unarmed prisoners during the extended conflict in Afghanistan.
The Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator launched their probe into Roberts-Smith in 2021. The Special Investigator’s office was established specifically to examine war crime allegations against Australian military personnel who served in Afghanistan.
Officials stated that the defendant is scheduled to make his first court appearance in New South Wales later Tuesday.
Legal representatives who handled Roberts-Smith’s defamation case have not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the criminal charges.
