{"id":48760,"date":"2026-04-07T22:22:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T02:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/decorated-australian-war-hero-jailed-on-afghan-civilian-murder-charges\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T22:22:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T02:22:07","slug":"decorated-australian-war-hero-jailed-on-afghan-civilian-murder-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/decorated-australian-war-hero-jailed-on-afghan-civilian-murder-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"Decorated Australian War Hero Jailed on Afghan Civilian Murder Charges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775614927507.jpg?resize=450%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-48759\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775614927507.jpg?w=450&amp;ssl=1 450w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775614927507.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>A highly decorated Australian military veteran will stay locked up after his attorneys declined to pursue bail following his arrest on serious war crimes allegations.<\/p><p>Authorities took Ben Roberts-Smith, age 47, into custody Tuesday on five war crimes charges related to the deaths of five Afghan civilians during the period from 2009 to 2012. The charges each carry potential life imprisonment.<\/p><p>Officials denied him bail and transported him to Sydney&#8217;s Silverwater Correctional Complex, where he spent Tuesday night.<\/p><p>Roberts-Smith was absent from Wednesday morning&#8217;s bail proceeding, conducted via video conference, according to local news outlets.<\/p><p>Attorney Jordan Portokalli informed the court his client would not request release from detention, instead asking for a face-to-face hearing scheduled for later that day.<\/p><p>Judge Lucas Swan set the next court date for June 4, ensuring Roberts-Smith will stay incarcerated until then unless his legal representatives can arrange an earlier proceeding.<\/p><p>The former Special Air Services Regiment member earned recognition as a national war hero through his service across six deployments to Afghanistan spanning 2006 through 2012.<\/p><p>Military officials bestowed numerous prestigious honors upon him, including the Victoria Cross, which represents the top military award for armed forces personnel from Britain and Commonwealth nations.<\/p><p>Federal police investigators plan to argue during trial that the alleged victims were not engaged in combat when killed and were being held as unarmed detainees under Australian military control at the time of their deaths.<\/p><p>Authorities will also contend that Roberts-Smith either personally shot the victims or directed subordinates to kill them while he was present.<\/p><p>These criminal charges stem from a collaborative probe between federal police and the Office of the Special Investigator, an agency established to investigate alleged criminal behavior by Australian defense personnel, which launched in 2021.<\/p><p>Roberts-Smith has continuously rejected claims of misconduct during his military tenure, many of which Nine Entertainment publications first revealed through reporting that began in 2018.<\/p><p>He mounted an unsuccessful legal challenge against these accusations in what became Australia&#8217;s costliest defamation case, with a court ultimately determining he likely participated in killing four Afghan civilians.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia&#8217;s most decorated living soldier, remains in custody after being charged with killing five Afghan civilians during his military service. The 47-year-old veteran faces five war crimes charges, each carrying a potential life sentence. His legal team chose not to request bail during Wednesday&#8217;s court hearing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":48759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[832],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775614927507.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-cGs","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":48793,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/highly-decorated-australian-war-hero-stays-jailed-on-afghan-murder-charges\/","url_meta":{"origin":48760,"position":0},"title":"Highly Decorated Australian War Hero Stays Jailed on Afghan Murder Charges","author":"Admin","date":"April 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most decorated living soldier, remains in custody after being charged with war crimes in Afghanistan. The Victoria Cross recipient faces five murder charges related to deaths of Afghan civilians between 2009 and 2012. He chose not to seek bail during his Wednesday court appearance in Sydney.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;World News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"World News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/world-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775623277621.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775623277621.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775623277621.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775623277621.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53455,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/decorated-australian-veteran-released-on-bail-in-afghanistan-war-crimes-case\/","url_meta":{"origin":48760,"position":1},"title":"Decorated Australian Veteran Released on Bail in Afghanistan War Crimes Case","author":"Admin","date":"April 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most honored living military veteran, received bail approval Friday following his arrest on war crimes charges. The former soldier faces accusations of murdering five Afghan civilians during his deployment between 2009 and 2012.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;World News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"World News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/world-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776404349580.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776404349580.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776404349580.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776404349580.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54367,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/australias-most-decorated-soldier-denies-afghan-war-crime-charges\/","url_meta":{"origin":48760,"position":2},"title":"Australia&#8217;s Most Decorated Soldier Denies Afghan War Crime Charges","author":"Admin","date":"April 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most decorated soldier, publicly denied war crime allegations after being released on bail. The 47-year-old faces five charges related to the alleged killing of unarmed Afghan civilians between 2009 and 2012.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;World News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"World News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/world-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776576128451.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":48165,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/decorated-australian-soldier-arrested-on-war-crime-murder-charges\/","url_meta":{"origin":48760,"position":3},"title":"Decorated Australian Soldier Arrested on War Crime Murder Charges","author":"Admin","date":"April 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most highly decorated living soldier, was taken into custody at Sydney Airport on charges of murdering five people during his service in Afghanistan. The 47-year-old former military member faces life imprisonment if convicted on the war crimes charges stemming from incidents between 2009 and 2012.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;World News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"World News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/world-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775535803693.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775535803693.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775535803693.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775535803693.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775535803693.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48202,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/ex-australian-military-member-faces-war-crime-charges-for-afghan-deaths\/","url_meta":{"origin":48760,"position":4},"title":"Ex-Australian Military Member Faces War Crime Charges for Afghan Deaths","author":"Admin","date":"April 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"An unnamed 47-year-old former Australian soldier has been arrested and charged with war crimes for allegedly killing five unarmed Afghan civilians between 2009 and 2012. This marks only the second time an Australian Afghanistan veteran has faced such charges, following a 2020 military investigation that uncovered evidence of unlawful killings\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;World News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"World News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/world-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775540257356.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775540257356.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775540257356.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775540257356.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63519,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/three-australian-women-face-slavery-terror-charges-after-syria-return\/","url_meta":{"origin":48760,"position":5},"title":"Three Australian Women Face Slavery, Terror Charges After Syria Return","author":"Admin","date":"May 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Three Australian women have been arrested and charged with slavery and terrorism offenses after returning from Syria where they allegedly had ties to ISIS. The charges include accusations of purchasing a Yazidi woman as a slave for $10,000.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;World News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"World News","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/world-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778211445756.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778211445756.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778211445756.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778211445756.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}