Former Australian soldier charged with committing 5 war crime murders in
Afghanistan
[April 07, 2026]
By ROD McGUIRK
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia's most decorated living veteran,
Ben Roberts-Smith, faces war crime charges on allegations that he killed
five unarmed Afghans while serving in Afghanistan from 2009 and 2012,
police and media reported on Tuesday.
Police have not confirmed the name of the 47-year-old former soldier who
was arrested Tuesday. But he has been widely reported in the media to be
Roberts-Smith, a former Special Air Service Regiment corporal who was
awarded both the Victoria Cross and Medal of Gallantry for his service
in Afghanistan.
Police charged him Tuesday with five counts of war crime murder. He will
remain in custody overnight and make his first court appearance on
Wednesday, a police statement said.
He will potentially apply for release on bail Wednesday.
Roberts-Smith is only the second Australian veteran of the Afghanistan
campaign to be charged with a war crime.
Former SAS soldier Oliver Schulz, 44, has pleaded not guilty to a charge
of war crime murder. He is accused of shooting Afghan man Dad Mohammad
three times in the head in an Uruzgan province wheat field in May 2012.
War crime murder carries a potential sentence of life in prison. It's a
federal crime in Australia, defined as the intentional killing in the
context of armed conflict of a person who is not taking an active part
in hostilities, such as civilians, prisoners of war or wounded soldiers.
Police arrested Roberts-Smith at Sydney Airport on Tuesday after he
arrived on a flight from Brisbane, Australian Federal Police
Commissioner Krissy Barrett said.
“It will be alleged that the victims were not taking part in hostilities
at the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan. It will be alleged
the victims were detained, unarmed and were under the control of ADF
members when they were killed,” Barrett told reporters, referring to the
Australian Defense Force.
“It will be alleged the victims were shot by the accused or shot by
subordinate members of the ADF in the presence of and acting on the
orders of the accused,” Barrett added.
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Ben Roberts-Smith arrives at the Federal Court in Sydney, Australia,
on June 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)
A civil court has already found similar allegations against
Roberts-Smith credible in a defamation suit he brought after several
newspapers published articles in 2018 accusing him of a range of war
crimes. In 2023, a federal judge rejected Roberts-Smith’s claims and
ruled that he likely killed four noncombatants unlawfully in 2009
and 2012. But while the civil court found the war crimes allegations
were mostly proved on a balance of probabilities, the new charges
would have to be proved in a criminal court to a higher standard of
beyond reasonable doubt. In September, Australia’s High Court said
it would not hear an appeal, ending his chances of overturning the
ruling.
The charges follow a military report released in 2020 that found
evidence that elite Australian SAS and commando regiment troops
unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and other
noncombatants.
Barrett said few soldiers were involved in the new allegations.
“The alleged conduct related to these charges is confined to a very
small section of our trusted and respected ADF which helps keep this
country safe,” Barrett said.
“The overwhelming majority of our ADF do our country proud. Today’s
charges are not reflective of the majority of members who serve
under our Australian flag with honor, with distinction and with the
values of a democratic nation,” she added.
The Office of the Special Investigator was established to work with
police on the war crime allegations. The office’s director of
investigations Ross Barnett said allegations of 53 war crimes had
been investigated and 39 of those investigations had concluded
without charges. Around 40,000 Australian military personnel served
in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021, of whom 41 were killed.
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