In a nation that has long honored its soldiers as guardians of democratic values, Australia now confronts the painful reckoning of whether some of those same soldiers crossed the line from warrior to perpetrator. Ben Roberts-Smith, the most decorated living veteran in Australian history, was charged Tuesday with five counts of war crime murder for allegedly killing unarmed Afghan detainees between 2009 and 2012. The charges arrive not as a sudden revelation but as the culmination of years of journalism, civil litigation, and military inquiry — a slow, difficult turning of the wheel of accounta
Decorated Australian soldier charged with five war crime murders in Afghanistan
Five unarmed Afghan civilians allegedly killed while detained and under Australian military control.
We saw things with our own eyes that we feel uncomfortable about
Mark
So Roberts-Smith is being charged with five murders, but the civil court only found him liable for four unlawful killings. Why the discrepancy?
Mimi
The civil case examined his conduct over a broader period and found credible evidence of four unlawful killings. The criminal charges focus on five specific alleged murders. The cases aren't identical in scope or the specific incidents they address.
Luke
Right, and that's important—the civil ruling doesn't automatically translate to criminal charges. The judge found the allegations credible on a balance of probabilities, but prosecutors have to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt, which is a much higher bar.
Mark
What makes this case so difficult to prosecute, given that the civil court already found the allegations credible?
Mimi
The witnesses are his fellow soldiers. These are people who served with him, who respect him, who have to stand up in court and say they saw him do something terrible. That emotional weight is real.
Luke
But credibility in civil court doesn't guarantee conviction in criminal court. The standard is higher, and the burden shifts. Prosecutors need witnesses willing to testify under oath to specific acts, and they need to overcome any reasonable doubt.
Mark
The 2020 military report found 39 unlawful killings by Australian troops. Why are so few soldiers being charged?
Mimi
The military report documented the killings, but documenting and proving criminal liability are different things. The Office of the Special Investigator has looked at 53 alleged war crimes and charged very few people.
Luke
That's the real question underneath this story. Forty thousand Australians served in Afghanistan. Thirty-nine unlawful killings were documented. But we're seeing charges against only a handful of individuals. We don't know yet whether that reflects the difficulty of proof, the chain of command issues, or something else.
Le Pouls
- Australia's most celebrated living soldier was arrested at Sydney Airport and now faces life imprisonment for allegedly ordering or personally carrying out the execution of five unarmed Afghan detainees.
- A 2023 civil court already found it likely he unlawfully killed four noncombatants, but criminal conviction demands proof beyond reasonable doubt — a far steeper legal climb for prosecutors.
- SAS comrades who once served beside Roberts-Smith are expected to testify against him, a prospect that has already broken some witnesses emotionally, torn between loyalty and conscience.
- The case sits within a sweeping national reckoning: a 2020 military report documented 39 unlawful killings by elite Australian troops, with 53 alleged war crimes still under investigation.
- Authorities are careful to frame the accused conduct as the actions of a small fraction of the 40,000 Australians who served in Afghanistan — but the charges signal that no rank or medal places anyone beyond the law.
In a nation that has long honored its soldiers as guardians of democratic values, Australia now confronts the painful reckoning of whether some of those same soldiers crossed the line from warrior to perpetrator. Ben Roberts-Smith, the most decorated living veteran in Australian history, was charged Tuesday with five counts of war crime murder for allegedly killing unarmed Afghan detainees between 2009 and 2012. The charges arrive not as a sudden revelation but as the culmination of years of journalism, civil litigation, and military inquiry — a slow, difficult turning of the wheel of accountability. What unfolds next will test not only the evidence against one man, but the capacity of a society to hold its heroes to the same moral standards it asks of everyone else.
Ben Roberts-Smith, 47, holder of the Victoria Cross and Australia's most decorated living veteran, was arrested Tuesday at Sydney Airport and charged with five counts of war crime murder. Police allege he killed five unarmed Afghan civilians while serving with the Special Air Service Regiment between 2009 and 2012 — victims who were detained and under Australian military control when they died, shot either by Roberts-Smith directly or by subordinates acting on his orders. He is expected to appear in court Wednesday and may seek bail.
The criminal charges follow a significant civil proceeding in 2023, when a federal judge rejected Roberts-Smith's defamation suit against newspapers that had reported on the allegations. That court found it likely he had unlawfully killed four noncombatants. But a civil finding on the balance of probabilities is a lower bar than what prosecutors must now clear — proof beyond reasonable doubt. Australia's High Court declined to hear his appeal of that ruling last September.
The investigation stretches back to 2017, driven in part by journalist Nick McKenzie, one of the reporters Roberts-Smith had sued. McKenzie has noted that SAS colleagues are again expected to testify — soldiers who witnessed troubling conduct and chose to speak, at considerable personal cost. Some broke down after giving evidence in the civil trial, the weight of testifying against a decorated comrade proving almost unbearable.
Roberts-Smith is only the second Australian Afghanistan veteran to face war crime charges; former SAS soldier Oliver Schulz has pleaded not guilty to a separate murder allegation. The charges emerge from a broader institutional reckoning: a 2020 military report found evidence that elite Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners and civilians. Of 53 alleged war crimes investigated by the Office of the Special Investigator, 39 were closed without charges. Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett was careful to note that the alleged conduct involves only a small portion of the roughly 40,000 Australians who served in Afghanistan — 41 of whom gave their lives there.
Ben Roberts-Smith, the most decorated living veteran in Australia, was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday after arriving on a flight from Brisbane. The 47-year-old former Special Air Service Regiment corporal now faces five counts of war crime murder, each carrying a potential sentence of life in prison. Police say he will appear in court Wednesday and may seek bail.
The charges allege that Roberts-Smith killed five unarmed Afghans while serving in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. According to Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett, the victims were detained and under the control of Australian Defense Force members at the time they were killed. Barrett told reporters that it will be alleged the victims were shot either by Roberts-Smith directly or by subordinate ADF members acting on his orders. Under Australian law, war crime murder is defined as the intentional killing during armed conflict of someone not actively participating in hostilities—including civilians, prisoners of war, and wounded soldiers.
Roberts-Smith's military record includes both the Victoria Cross and the Medal of Gallantry, honors earned through his service in Afghanistan. He is only the second Australian veteran of the Afghanistan campaign to face war crime charges. The first is former SAS soldier Oliver Schulz, 44, who has pleaded not guilty to one 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 criminal charges come after a civil court already examined similar allegations. In 2023, a federal judge rejected Roberts-Smith's defamation suit against several newspapers that had published articles in 2018 accusing him of war crimes. The judge ruled that Roberts-Smith likely killed four noncombatants unlawfully in 2009 and 2012. However, the civil court's finding on a balance of probabilities is a lower evidentiary standard than what prosecutors must now meet in criminal court, where they must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. In September, Australia's High Court declined to hear an appeal of the civil ruling, closing off that legal avenue.
The investigation into Roberts-Smith's conduct began years before the charges. Nick McKenzie, a journalist who was sued for defamation by Roberts-Smith but whose reporting ultimately contributed to the civil court's findings, has been investigating allegations against the soldier since 2017. McKenzie noted that SAS colleagues are expected to testify in the criminal trial as they did in the civil proceedings. He described the difficulty of the investigation and the emotional toll on witnesses—soldiers who served alongside Roberts-Smith but felt compelled to speak about conduct they witnessed. Some of those witnesses broke down after testifying, McKenzie said, given the weight of standing against a decorated comrade.
The charges reflect broader scrutiny of Australian military conduct in Afghanistan. A 2020 military report documented evidence that elite Australian 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 investigated 53 alleged war crimes to date. Of those, 39 investigations concluded without charges being filed. Police Commissioner Barrett emphasized that the conduct alleged in the new charges involves only a small section of the Australian Defense Force. She stated that the overwhelming majority of the roughly 40,000 Australian military personnel who served in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021 served with honor and distinction. Of those personnel, 41 were killed in the conflict.
Citations marquantes
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
For them to come forward and say we served our country bravely like Ben Roberts-Smith did, but we saw things with our own eyes that we feel uncomfortable about.— Journalist Nick McKenzie, describing testimony from SAS witnesses
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Crime & Justice