Australia’s most decorated living soldier, Ben Roberts‑Smith, was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday and will face five counts of war‑crime murder for the alleged killing of unarmed civilians during service in Afghanistan.
The 47‑year‑old former Australian Defence Force member was taken into custody on Tuesday morning, the Australian Federal Police said. He is to be charged over the deaths of five people in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012; each charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Roberts‑Smith, who earned some of Australia’s highest military honours — including the Victoria Cross — after six tours in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2012, has long denied any wrongdoing. The AFP commissioner, Krissy Barrett, said authorities allege the victims were not participating in hostilities when they were killed, and that they were detained, unarmed and under the control of ADF members. Barrett added that some of the victims were allegedly shot by Roberts‑Smith or by subordinates acting on his orders and in his presence.
Serious allegations first emerged in Nine Entertainment newspapers from 2018, including claims that he shot an unarmed Afghan teenager and kicked a handcuffed man off a cliff before ordering him to be shot. Roberts‑Smith fought those allegations in a defamation case; in 2023 a Federal Court judge found that four of six murder allegations were proven, and a final appeal to the High Court was dismissed in September 2025.
A 2020 inquiry also found credible evidence that members of the Special Air Service Regiment killed dozens of unarmed prisoners in Afghanistan. The AFP and the Office of the Special Investigator — created to examine alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan — opened investigations in 2021.
Ross Barnett, director of investigations at the OSI, said the probe is hampered by limited access to Afghan crime scenes and associated forensic material. Authorities say 53 investigations into alleged ADF war crimes have been launched, with 10 still active. Another former special forces soldier is due to face trial for a war‑crime murder next February, and Barnett said additional charges will be pursued if evidence warrants them.
Police said Roberts‑Smith is due to appear before a local New South Wales court later on Tuesday. His lawyer from the defamation proceedings did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
