According to local media, Australia’s most decorated living soldier has been detained and will face charges for allegedly committing war crimes in Afghanistan. Ben Roberts-Smith, who quit the military in 2013, was arrested at the Sydney airport and is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday on five charges of war crimes murder.
The former Special Air Service corporal and Victoria Cross recipient was judged to have killed multiple unarmed Afghans in a 2023 defamation ruling. The 47-year-old, meanwhile, has previously described the accusations against him as “egregious” and “spiteful” and denies any misconduct.
The Brereton Report, a historic review conducted in 2020, concluded that there was “credible evidence” that elite Australian soldiers had murdered 39 people in Afghanistan illegally and suggested that 19 current or former soldiers be looked into.
For the first time in history, a court evaluated allegations of war crimes committed by Australian forces during Roberts-Smith’s civil trial. He lost an appeal against the ruling last year, claiming the claimed killings either did not occur at all or happened lawfully during combat.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) announced during a press conference on Tuesday that a 47-year-old ex-soldier had been taken into custody and would face charges for shooting dead unarmed detainees while serving in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2012.
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