US EditionAustralia's most-decorated living soldier arrested over alleged war crimes
Police said the 47-year-old faces five war-crime murder counts after a joint investigation that began in 2021 and drew on witness testimony.
- On Tuesday, Australian Federal Police officers arrested former Special Air Service soldier Ben Roberts-Smith at Sydney Airport over alleged murders of unarmed Afghan civilians and prisoners.
- A five-year investigation by the Office of Special Investigator secured eyewitness cooperation after Roberts-Smith lost a 2023 civil defamation suit where judges found war crimes occurred to the civil 'balance of probabilities' standard.
- Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett confirmed Roberts-Smith is expected to face five counts of war crime murder, with police alleging victims were unarmed and under Australian Defence Force control.
- Appearing before a NSW local court judge later today, the 47-year-old faces potential life imprisonment, marking the latest development in a saga stemming from alleged actions in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2012.
- Former senior judge Paul Brereton's 2020 inquiry uncovered credible information of 39 alleged executions by SAS soldiers, prompting the five-year investigation; Commissioner Barrett stated these charges do not reflect the wider Australian Defence Force community.
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84 Articles
The most beautiful soldier in Australia was arrested and charged with war crimes, accused of having been involved in the execution of unarmed prisoners in Afghanistan. The case was dismissed by the Australian army and resumed the scandal of abuses of elite bodies.
The Australian federal police arrest the once celebrated war hero Ben Roberts-Smith. A special unit investigated for years against the carrier of the highest Australian military order. He is accused of serious crimes in Afghanistan.
Ben Roberts-Smith is one of Australia's most decorated soldiers. Now he has been arrested and is said to have committed several war crimes in Afghanistan.
Australia arrests decorated veteran on war crimes charges
Australian police have arrested the country's most decorated living soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, on allegations of war crimes. The Australian Federal Police said a man, identified by local news outlets as Roberts-Smith, was charged over the killing of several unarmed civilians while on deployment in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. The former soldier was previously awarded Australia's highest military honor, the Victoria Cross, for "conspicuous…
War crimes in Afghanistan: Ben Roberts-Smith previously sued the media that accused him of war crimes for defamation. The most decorated…
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