Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most prominent living soldier, was arrested at Sydney Airport early today on charges of committing five counts of war crimes during his deployment in Afghanistan.
He is accused of carrying out the alleged offences, linked to the killing of five people, between 2009 and 2012. The maximum penalty for each charge is life imprisonment.
Smith has received several of Australia’s highest military honors, including the Victoria Cross, for his service during the war in Afghanistan.
He has consistently denied allegations of misconduct during his service. Among the reported accusations is that he shot and killed an unarmed Afghan teenager.
Another allegation claims he kicked a handcuffed man off a cliff and then ordered that he be shot.
A 2020 report provided credible evidence that dozens of detainees were killed during the Afghanistan war by members of the Australian Special Air Service Regiment.
