- Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most decorated living soldier, has been arrested at Sydney airport and is expected to be charged with five counts of war crime murders.
- The charges relate to the alleged murder of five unarmed Afghan nationals between 2009 and 2012 during his service in Afghanistan, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for each charge.
- The arrest follows a complex investigation by the Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator, which has been ongoing since 2021.
- Roberts-Smith previously lost a high-profile defamation case against newspapers that published allegations of his war crimes, including kicking a detained man off a cliff and ordering executions.
- The High Court recently rejected his appeal against a civil court finding that he likely killed non-combatants unlawfully, exhausting his legal options in that defamation case.
IN FULL
Australia’s most decorated soldier arrested over war crimes allegations in Afghanistan
