Tuesday 07 April 2026 – 06:17 AM
On Tuesday, authorities in Australia arrested Australian soldier Ben Roberts-Smith, the most decorated soldier alive, on charges of committing five war crimes related to murder during his service in Afghanistan.
Australian soldier Ben Roberts Smith
Reuters revealed, according to local media, that Ben Roberts-Smith, who police identified as a 47-year-old former member of the Australian Defense Force, was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday morning.
The Australian Federal Police announced that it would bring five charges against him for committing war crimes related to the killing of five people in Afghanistan during the period between 2009 and 2012, noting that the maximum penalty for each charge could reach life imprisonment.
Roberts-Smith was widely praised as a national hero after receiving a number of top military honours, including the Victoria Cross, in recognition of his performance during six tours of service in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2012.
He has repeatedly denied accusations of wrongdoing during his service, accusations that were first raised in a series of press reports since 2018 that alleged his involvement in killings of unarmed Afghan prisoners, including shooting an unarmed teenager and kicking a handcuffed man off a cliff before ordering his death.
Roberts-Smith addressed these accusations in a defamation suit, but the Australian Federal Court ruled in 2023 that newspapers had proven the validity of four out of six murders attributed to him, while his final appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected in September 2025.
A 2020 report also noted there was credible evidence that members of the Australian Special Air Service (SAS) regiment killed dozens of unarmed prisoners during the war in Afghanistan, while the Australian Federal Police and the Office of a Special Investigator opened an expanded investigation in 2021 into allegations of war crimes by the Australian Defense Force.
The accused is scheduled to appear before a local court in the state of New South Wales later on Tuesday, while there was no immediate comment from his lawyer in the case.
