Ben Roberts-Smith, once widely celebrated in Australia, is to stand trial on allegations of war crimes committed in Afghanistan.
The 47-year-old ex-special forces soldier was arrested at Sydney airport following a multi-year investigation and has been charged with five counts of murder as war crimes. Authorities say the alleged killings occurred in Uruzgan Province between 2009 and 2012. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the victims were detained, unarmed and under the control of Australian Defence Force personnel when they were killed.
Roberts-Smith remains in custody after his lawyers declined to seek bail. The probe into alleged misconduct by Australian troops in Afghanistan has already led to other charges; a military inquiry previously found credible information that elite forces were involved in the unlawful killings of as many as 39 Afghan detainees, including farmers and civilians.
Investigators face significant evidentiary hurdles because the incidents took place years ago and teams do not have access to original crime scenes. Special investigator Ross Barnett told federal police investigators lack scene photographs, measurements, projectile recoveries and blood-spatter analysis — routine material in typical homicide inquiries.
The first public allegations against Roberts-Smith emerged in 2018 after former colleagues spoke to journalists. He filed a defamation suit against the media outlet that published the claims. During that civil trial, testimony from several former defence personnel concluded he had likely committed war crimes.
Roberts-Smith continues to deny the allegations. Criminal proceedings require proof beyond a reasonable doubt, a substantially higher standard than the civil case. Gideon Boas, a senior legal adviser with experience at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, emphasized that insider testimony is often critical in war-crimes prosecutions and noted the broader importance of pursuing a figure long regarded as a national hero.
If convicted of the charges, Roberts-Smith could face life imprisonment. This report was filed from Melbourne by Kristina Kukolja for NPR.