In a nation still reckoning with the conduct of its elite forces abroad, Australia's most decorated living soldier now stands charged with the gravest of offenses — the deliberate killing of unarmed men already under military control. Ben Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient whose valor was once celebrated as the highest expression of Australian military service, was arrested Tuesday at Sydney Airport and faces five counts of war crime murder for alleged killings in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. The charges arrive not in a vacuum but as part of a broader institutional confrontation w
Australia's most decorated veteran charged with 5 war crime murders in Afghanistan
Five unarmed Afghan detainees were allegedly killed by Roberts-Smith or subordinate ADF members acting on his orders while detained and under military control.
They served bravely alongside him, but saw things that made them uncomfortable
Mark
So Roberts-Smith is the most decorated living veteran in Australia, and now he's facing murder charges. How does someone with that kind of record end up here?
Mimi
He earned the Victoria Cross and Medal of Gallantry for his service in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. But the allegations are that during that same period, he killed five unarmed Afghans who were detained and under military control.
Luke
Wait—the civil court already ruled on this in 2023, right? So why are we charging him criminally now?
Mimi
The civil court found the allegations credible on a balance of probabilities. But criminal charges require proof beyond reasonable doubt, which is a much higher bar. The civil ruling gives prosecutors a roadmap, but they have to prove it differently in criminal court.
Mark
Who's going to testify against him? His own soldiers?
Mimi
Yes. Former SAS colleagues are expected to testify, just as they did in the civil trial. Some of them broke down while testifying before.
Luke
That's significant, but I want to be careful here—are we saying these soldiers witnessed the actual killings, or are they testifying to what they heard or saw afterward?
Mimi
The reporting doesn't specify the nature of their testimony in detail. But the police commissioner said it will be alleged the victims were shot either by Roberts-Smith or by subordinate ADF members acting on his orders.
Mark
So the charges could rest partly on command responsibility—that he ordered subordinates to do it?
Mimi
That appears to be part of the allegation, yes.
Luke
And this isn't an isolated case. There's a 2020 military report documenting 39 unlawful killings by elite Australian troops in Afghanistan.
Mark
So this is part of a larger pattern the military itself documented?
Mimi
Exactly. The Office of the Special Investigator has looked into 53 alleged war crimes total. Roberts-Smith's case is one of very few that's resulted in criminal charges.
Luke
Which raises a question: why him? Why now? Is there something about his case that made prosecution possible when 39 other investigations didn't lead to charges?
The Pulse
- Australia's most decorated living veteran was taken into custody at Sydney Airport, facing five counts of war crime murder that carry the possibility of life imprisonment.
- The charges allege that Roberts-Smith either personally shot five unarmed Afghan detainees or ordered subordinates to do so — men who were under military control and posed no active threat.
- A 2023 civil court had already found the core allegations credible, but criminal prosecution demands proof beyond reasonable doubt, raising the evidentiary stakes considerably.
- Former SAS colleagues who once served alongside Roberts-Smith in combat are expected to testify against him — some having already broken down on the stand during civil proceedings.
- The case sits within a sweeping military reckoning: a 2020 report documented 39 unlawful killings by elite Australian troops, with 53 alleged war crimes investigated and charges now reaching only the second defendant.
In a nation still reckoning with the conduct of its elite forces abroad, Australia's most decorated living soldier now stands charged with the gravest of offenses — the deliberate killing of unarmed men already under military control. Ben Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient whose valor was once celebrated as the highest expression of Australian military service, was arrested Tuesday at Sydney Airport and faces five counts of war crime murder for alleged killings in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. The charges arrive not in a vacuum but as part of a broader institutional confrontation with documented unlawful killings by elite troops — a confrontation that asks whether the honors a society bestows can coexist with accountability for what was done in its name.
Ben Roberts-Smith, 47, holder of both the Victoria Cross and the Medal of Gallantry, was arrested Tuesday at Sydney Airport after arriving on a flight from Brisbane. He faces five counts of war crime murder under Australian federal law — charges that allege he killed, or ordered the killing of, five unarmed Afghan detainees during his SAS service between 2009 and 2012. The alleged victims were not engaged in active hostilities; they were detained and under military control at the time of their deaths. Roberts-Smith remained in custody overnight and was expected to appear in court Wednesday.
This is only the second criminal prosecution of an Australian veteran for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. The legal path ahead is steep: while a federal civil court ruled in 2023 that similar allegations were credible — finding it likely he had unlawfully killed four noncombatants — criminal conviction demands proof beyond reasonable doubt, a substantially higher bar. That civil ruling came after Roberts-Smith sued several newspapers over 2018 reporting on the allegations and lost. Australia's High Court later refused to hear his appeal, closing off any civil remedy.
Central to the prosecution will be testimony from Roberts-Smith's former SAS comrades — soldiers who served alongside him in some of the most dangerous conditions of the Afghanistan campaign. Journalist Nick McKenzie, who has investigated the allegations since 2017 and was himself sued by Roberts-Smith, noted that several of these men already testified in the civil trial and broke down doing so. Their willingness to speak against a decorated colleague speaks to the gravity of what they witnessed.
The charges are rooted in a wider institutional reckoning. A 2020 military report found evidence that elite Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners and civilians. The Office of the Special Investigator has since examined 53 alleged war crimes, though 39 of those inquiries concluded without charges. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett was careful to note that the alleged conduct involves only a narrow fraction of the roughly 40,000 Australians who served in Afghanistan — a campaign that claimed 41 Australian lives. What the Roberts-Smith case now tests is whether criminal justice can reach even the most honored, and whether the laws of war hold meaning when the accused once embodied a nation's highest ideals of military valor.
Ben Roberts-Smith, the most decorated living veteran in Australia, was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday after stepping off a flight from Brisbane. The 47-year-old former Special Air Service Regiment corporal now faces five counts of war crime murder—charges that carry a potential sentence of life imprisonment. Police say he will appear in court Wednesday and may seek bail, though he remained in custody overnight following his arrest.
Roberts-Smith earned both the Victoria Cross and Medal of Gallantry for his service in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. The charges allege that during this period, he killed five unarmed Afghans who were detained, under military control, and not engaged in active hostilities. According to Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett, it will be alleged that the victims were shot either by Roberts-Smith directly or by subordinate Australian Defense Force members acting on his orders. War crime murder, as defined in Australian federal law, is the intentional killing during armed conflict of someone not actively participating in hostilities—a category that includes civilians, prisoners of war, and wounded soldiers.
This is only the second time an Australian veteran of the Afghanistan campaign has faced such charges. Former SAS soldier Oliver Schulz, 44, previously pleaded not guilty to a single count of war crime murder for allegedly shooting an Afghan man named Dad Mohammad three times in the head in a wheat field in Uruzgan province in May 2012. The legal terrain Roberts-Smith now enters is one where the evidentiary bar is substantially higher than in civil proceedings. A federal judge already ruled in 2023 that similar allegations against him were credible, finding it likely he had unlawfully killed four noncombatants in 2009 and 2012. That civil ruling came after Roberts-Smith brought a defamation suit against several newspapers that published articles in 2018 accusing him of war crimes. He lost that case, and in September, Australia's High Court declined to hear his appeal, foreclosing his path to overturn the civil judgment.
Yet a civil court finding facts on a balance of probabilities differs fundamentally from a criminal conviction requiring proof beyond reasonable doubt. The new charges will demand that prosecutors meet this stricter standard, and the trial is expected to rely heavily on testimony from Roberts-Smith's former SAS colleagues. Nick McKenzie, a journalist who was sued by Roberts-Smith over his reporting and has been investigating the allegations since 2017, noted that some of these soldiers have already testified in the civil trial, and several broke down while doing so. Their willingness to speak against a decorated comrade—someone they served alongside in combat—underscores the weight of what they witnessed and felt compelled to disclose.
The charges emerge from a broader reckoning with conduct by Australia's elite forces in Afghanistan. In 2020, a military report documented evidence that SAS and commando regiment troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers, and other noncombatants. The Office of the Special Investigator, established to work with police on war crime allegations, has since investigated 53 alleged war crimes. Of those, 39 investigations concluded without charges being filed. Police Commissioner Barrett emphasized that the conduct alleged in the Roberts-Smith charges involves only a small section of the Australian Defense Force, and she stressed that the overwhelming majority of the roughly 40,000 military personnel who served in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021 served with honor and distinction. Forty-one Australian service members were killed during that two-decade campaign. Roberts-Smith's arrest and the charges against him now test whether the criminal justice system can hold even the most decorated among them accountable for alleged violations of the laws of war.
Notable Quotes
It will be alleged that the victims were detained, unarmed and were under the control of ADF members when they were killed.— Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett
These brave soldiers, some of them broke down after they testified, so difficult was it for them to stand up and speak out.— Nick McKenzie, journalist investigating the allegations
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