Former Australian soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has been arrested in relation to multiple counts of murdering unarmed Afghan civilians and prisoners, as part of broader investigation into his alleged war crimes during his time in the Afghanistan war.
The 47-year-old was arrested this morning at Sydney Airport after returning on a flight from Brisbane, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Federal Police officers were reportedly seen waiting at the arrivals gate for Roberts-Smith’s flight when it arrived at around 11am.
The exact criminal charges Roberts-Smith is facing are yet to be released, but the arrest comes during a five-year investigation alleging that the decorated special forces soldier executed, or directed other soldiers to execute, at least half a dozen detainees during while serving in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2012.
Roberts-Smith has strongly disputed the claims of the investigation, which include allegations he kicked an Afghan civilian off a cliff in 2011, executed a prisoner with a prosthetic limb in 2009, and ordered a junior soldier to to execute an unarmed detainee in 2012.
Roberts-Smith, who is Australia’s most decorated soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, has denied such claims in the past, including through a defamation lawsuit against the newspapers and journalists which first reported on his alleged war crimes in 2018. The former soldier lost that defamation suit in 2023, with the Federal Court then refusing his bid to appeal the ruling last year.
The soldier vowed to keep fighting the allegations after the failed appeal, saying last year: “Sunlight is said to be the best disinfectant, and I believe one day soon the truth will prevail”.
The Australian Federal Police is expected to address the media after Roberts-Smith’s arrest later today. This story is developing.
Lead image: Getty
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