Australia’s most-decorated living soldier faces murder charges: Here’s everything to know

Decorated former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith was arrested at Sydney Airport and is expected to be charged with five counts of murder. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) allege the victims were unarmed Afghan nationals who were not participating in hostilities at the time of their deaths.

While a 2023 defamation trial found allegations of his involvement in four deaths to be substantially true on the balance of probabilities, he has not yet been found guilty under the criminal standard. Roberts-Smith’s legal attempts to overturn the defamation findings failed in the Federal Court, and the High Court refused to hear his case in September.

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Roberts-Smith maintains his innocence, having previously described the allegations against him as egregious and spiteful. The charges are the result of a complex and meticulous investigation conducted by the AFP and the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) since 2021. Furthermore, it is alleged he intentionally caused the death of a person in April 2009 and in another incident, aided someone else in causing a death in Kakarak.

Regarding the arrest, OSI Director of Investigations Ross Barnett said Mr Roberts-Smith’s arrest was a “significant step” under "challenging circumstances” and he was "entitled to the presumption of innocence until determined otherwise.”

Mr Roberts-Smith’s case is one of 53 war crimes alleging the agency has been involved in investigation since 2021. This marks the second time an Australian soldier has been charged with such crimes. In this connection, Commissioner Barrett said: “The alleged conduct related to these charges is confined to a very small section of our trusted and respected ADF, which keeps our country safe.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese refused to comment further when asked whether the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions had sought authorization from the federal government before Mr Roberts-Smith’s arrest. 

He said: “That is a matter in which it’s very important that there not be political engagement, as it is now the subject of legal proceedings.”

He launched a high-profile legal battle in a bid to clear his name-which spanned seven years, cost millions of dollars and was dubbed by some as Australia’s “trial of the century.”

The Australian War Memorial (AWM) in 2023 added information to a display’s text to reflect the Federal Court’s findings earlier that year. A Federal Court judge found- on the balance of probabilities-that he had taken part in at least four murders, a judgement that was later affirmed on appeal.