One of Australia’s most-decorated soldiers was charged Tuesday with murdering unarmed prisoners captured in Afghanistan, police said following a sweeping war crimes probe.
A landmark military report in 2020 revealed grave allegations against Australian troops sent to fight Taliban forces, accusing elite units of torture, summary executions and “body count” competitions.
Police levelled murder charges against former Special Air Service officer Ben Roberts-Smith, a distinguished soldier awarded Australia’s highest military honour for his efforts fighting insurgents.
Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the 47-year-old was allegedly complicit in a string of unlawful killings between 2009 and 2012.
“It will be alleged the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan,” she said.
“It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed, and were under the control of ADF members when they were killed,” she added, referring to the Australian Defence Force.
Court documents showed Roberts-Smith was charged with five counts of “war crime – murder”.
They included one “actual offence”, one “joint commission to an offence”, and three counts of aiding or abetting a murder.
Should Roberts-Smith be found guilty, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The towering soldier became a household name across Australia when he was awarded the Victoria Cross in 2011, a medal reserved for only the most courageous wartime exploits.
He met Queen Elizabeth II, had his portrait hung at the Australian War Museum, and was even honoured as the nation’s “father of the year”.
But the war hero’s reputation was called into question in 2018, when a series of news reports linked him to the alleged murder of unarmed Afghan prisoners by Australian troops.
The soldier had allegedly kicked an unarmed Afghan civilian off a cliff and ordered subordinates to shoot him, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
He was also said to have taken part in the machine-gunning of a man with a prosthetic limb which he later used as a drinking vessel with other soldiers.
Roberts-Smith has staunchly maintained his innocence throughout, launching legal action against the newspapers who aired the allegations.
But his efforts to sue The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald for slander would backfire, with a judge finding in 2023 many of the journalists’ claims were “substantially true”.
Such civil trials carry a lower burden of proof than the criminal proceedings Roberts-Smith now faces.
Australia deployed 39,000 troops to Afghanistan over two decades as part of US- and NATO-led operations against the Taliban and other militant groups.
As Australian veterans returned home, their actions have come into sharp legal focus.
Under growing pressure, the government appointed a special investigator to probe whether current and former soldiers should face criminal charges.
The 2020 military report found special forces personnel “unlawfully killed” 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners.
But investigations into the alleged crimes have been complicated by the Taliban authorities’ return to power and the lack of willing witnesses, and Roberts-Smith is only the second soldier to be charged.