Former Australian soldier to remain in custody over Afghan war crimes charges

Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated living soldier, will remain in custody following his arrest on multiple alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, local media reported Wednesday.

The 47-year-old former member of the elite Special Air Services Regiment was arrested on Tuesday and charged with five counts of war crimes, relating to the deaths of five civilians between 2009 and 2012. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Roberts-Smith was denied bail by police and taken to Silverwater Correctional Complex in western Sydney, where he spent the night. He did not participate via video link in a bail hearing on Wednesday morning.

His lawyer, Jordan Portokalli, told the court he would not be seeking bail and requested an in-person hearing later in the day. A formal bail review hearing has been scheduled for April 17 in a Sydney courthouse.

Roberts-Smith, a six-tour veteran of Afghanistan from 2006 to 2012, was celebrated as a national hero and awarded several top military honours, including the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for members of the armed forces in Britain and the Commonwealth.

The Australian Federal Police allege that the victims were unarmed civilians, detained and under Australian control at the time of their deaths, and were either shot by Roberts-Smith or by his subordinates acting under his orders and presence.

These charges follow a joint investigation launched in 2021 by the AFP and the Office of the Special Investigator, established to examine alleged criminal conduct by Australian defence personnel.

Roberts-Smith has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Allegations first surfaced in 2018 through a series of articles by Nine Entertainment newspapers. He later contested the claims in what became Australia’s most expensive defamation trial, in which he was found, on the balance of probabilities, to have been involved in the killing of four Afghan civilians.