Once celebrated as a national hero, Ben Roberts-Smith now faces criminal charges over alleged war crimes in Afghanistan and remains in custody after his lawyers declined to apply for bail. The 47-year-old ex-special forces soldier was arrested at Sydney airport following a multi-year investigation.
Federal prosecutors have charged Roberts-Smith with five counts of murder as war crimes, accusing him of involvement in the killings of Afghan civilians in Uruzgan Province between 2009 and 2012. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said authorities allege the victims were detained, unarmed and under the control of Australian Defence Force members when they were killed.
The case forms part of a broader probe into the conduct of Australian troops in Afghanistan. That inquiry already led to charges against another soldier after a military investigation said there was credible information suggesting members of elite Australian units were involved in the allegedly unlawful killing of 39 Afghan prisoners, including farmers and other civilians.
Special investigator Ross Barnett, who has worked with federal police, warned the inquiry faces significant hurdles because the alleged incidents happened years ago. Investigators lack access to crime scenes and evidence such as photographs, site plans, measurements, recovered projectiles and blood-spatter analysis that would normally aid homicide investigations.
The first public allegations against Roberts-Smith surfaced in 2018 when former comrades spoke to journalists. Gideon Boas, a former senior legal adviser to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, has noted that testimony from insiders can be critical in war-crimes cases. Roberts-Smith responded to the initial reporting by suing the media company for defamation; that civil trial heard evidence from former defence personnel and concluded he had likely committed war crimes.
Roberts-Smith continues to deny the accusations. The pending criminal trial will require prosecutors to prove the allegations beyond a higher standard of criminal proof. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment. Reported for NPR News by Kristina Kukolja in Melbourne.