Ben Roberts-Smith was arrested by Australian Federal Police at Sydney Airport after arriving on a flight from Brisbane. He has been charged with five counts of the war crime of murder, or alternatively two counts of murder and three counts of aiding or abetting murder, related to alleged incidents in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. Roberts-Smith is a former SAS corporal and Victoria Cross recipient, making him Australia's most decorated living soldier.
Roberts-Smith was awarded the Victoria Cross for actions in Tizak, Afghanistan, on 11 June 2010. He is an Australian former soldier who served in the Australian Army and is a recipient of the Victoria Cross for Australia, the highest award for gallantry in battle for the Australian Defence Force. He was deployed to East Timor in 1999, selected for the Special Air Service Regiment in 2003, and served in operations off Fiji in 2004, Iraq from 2005 to 2006, and Afghanistan on six occasions between 2006 and 2012. He was awarded a Medal for Gallantry in 2006 and a Commendation for Distinguished Service in 2012.
The defamation case was launched against Nine Newspapers, formerly Fairfax, over 2018 articles alleging misconduct including war crimes and domestic violence. Roberts-Smith sued three newspapers for 2018 reports alleging he was involved in the murders of unarmed prisoners in Afghanistan. He denied the allegations and launched a multi-million-dollar defamation case, commencing proceedings in August 2018.
He denies all wrongdoing and maintains his innocence.
In June 2023, Justice Anthony Besanko dismissed the defamation case, ruling the media outlets had proven Ben Roberts-Smith murdered four unarmed Afghans and broke military engagement rules. Roberts-Smith has officially lost his appeal against the 2023 defamation ruling, with the Federal Court upholding the original judgment that media reports alleging he was involved in the murder of four unarmed civilians were substantially true. A panel of three justices dismissed his appeal and a last-minute attempt to reopen the case over a secret recording, finding no wrongdoing in how the original trial was conducted. An appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court was dismissed on 16 May 2025, and the High Court refused special leave to appeal on 4 September 2025.
Specific allegations include that Roberts-Smith kicked an unarmed Afghan civilian off a cliff and ordered subordinates to shoot him. He was said to have taken part in machine-gunning a man with a prosthetic leg and used the leg as a drinking vessel. Allegations that Roberts-Smith dragged a prisoner with a prosthetic leg outside an Afghan compound before machine-gunning him were backed up by numerous witnesses, with a barrister saying allegations about the murder of a prisoner with a prosthetic leg outside Whiskey 108 were corroborated by four soldiers. Three witnesses gave accounts of Roberts-Smith manhandling the man before throwing him to the ground and machine-gunning him in 2009, and a fourth witness saw the body and recognized the man as a prisoner from a tunnel in Whiskey 108.
Other murder accusations include that Roberts-Smith ordered a junior SAS member to kill an unarmed prisoner to 'blood the rookie'. There was a 'powerful inference' the junior soldier used a suppressor on his rifle before shooting the man, implying premeditation. Roberts-Smith was alleged to have kicked a handcuffed prisoner off a cliff before ordering his execution near Darwan in September 2012, and to have ordered the execution of a prisoner after a weapons cache was found in Chinartu in October 2012.
Roberts-Smith claims he shot the man because he was a 'squirter' (a Taliban insurgent fleeing the compound).
Police allege the victims were unarmed, detained, and not taking part in hostilities when killed. A 2020 military report found evidence that elite Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan noncombatants. The Office of the Special Investigator has investigated 53 war crime allegations, with 39 concluding without charges. Australia deployed 39,000 troops to Afghanistan over two decades.
The judge in the defamation case did not find the domestic violence allegation substantiated but ruled it had 'contextual truth'. Roberts-Smith broke down in court in June 2021 over the allegation that he punched his mistress, expressing distress about public perception. His ex-wife and former mistress testified against him in the defamation trial, while his current girlfriend and mother supported him. He was accused of domestic violence against a woman in a Canberra hotel, but the justice said this allegation was not proven.
The defamation case was one of Australia's longest-running and costliest defamation trials, with legal costs estimated at about US$16 million. Roberts-Smith's defence was partially bankrolled by the boss of Seven West Media. He now faces legal costs likely exceeding $25 million.
Roberts-Smith does not dispute the killing occurred but claims it was lawful.
Roberts-Smith is in custody at Silverwater Prison after his lawyer deferred a bail application. Photos of his arrest show he was not handcuffed, and a criminal psychologist speculated this could be due to a calculated decision by police, a mark of respect, or his request.
The Australian War Memorial has updated the display in its Hall of Valour to note Ben Roberts-Smith's charges, but his uniform and medals remain on display. Some historians have called for the removal of his display from the Hall of Valour, while others argue it should be moved to an Afghanistan exhibition.
A veteran gave his medals to MP Bob Katter to return to Canberra, expressing betrayal over Roberts-Smith's treatment. High-profile figures like Elon Musk, Gina Rinehart, Tony Abbott, Pauline Hanson, and a retired US Navy SEAL have expressed support for Ben Roberts-Smith.
Roberts-Smith is only the second Australian veteran of the Afghanistan campaign to be charged with a war crime, after Oliver Schulz. Before the trial, he had been Australia's most famous and distinguished living soldier, meeting Queen Elizabeth II and having his image in the Australian War Memorial.
After discharge in 2013, he studied business at the University of Queensland and worked for Seven West Media, resigning in 2023 after the defamation trial. In October 2017, his conduct in Afghanistan came under scrutiny after reports he killed a teenager suspected of spotting his patrol. Roberts-Smith was photographed holidaying in Bali ahead of the ruling and did not attend court.
This ruling could clear the way for a criminal investigation by the Australian Federal Police. What specific evidence led to the criminal charges beyond the civil defamation trial findings has not been disclosed, and the current status of his bail application and expected court dates for the criminal case remains unclear.