Australia's most-decorated living soldier has been charged over allegations he committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
Ben Roberts-Smith - who left the defence force in 2013 - was arrested at Sydney airport on Tuesday and will face court over five counts of the war crime of murder. He will spend the night in a cell, before a bail hearing on Wednesday.
A defamation judgement in 2023 found the former Special Air Service (SAS) corporal and Victoria Cross recipient had killed several unarmed Afghans.
The 47-year-old denies all wrongdoing and has referred to the allegations against him, which have not yet been brought to criminal standards, as egregious and spiteful.
The civil trial was the first historical examination of claims of war crimes by Australian forces.
Roberts-Smith argued the alleged killings occurred legally during combat or did not happen at all, and last year lost an appeal against the Federal Court finding.
At a news conference in Sydney on Tuesday, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed a 47-year-old former soldier had been arrested and said he would be charged with killing unarmed detainees while serving in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.
He faces one charge of the war crime of murder, one of jointly commissioning a murder, and three of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring a murder.
It will be alleged the victims were shot by the accused or shot by subordinate members of the ADF [Australian Defence Force] in the presence of, and acting on the orders of, the accused, Commissioner Krissy Barrett said.
In 2020, a landmark investigation known as the Brereton Report found credible evidence that elite Australian soldiers unlawfully killed 39 people in Afghanistan, recommending that 19 current or former ADF members be investigated.
A specialist team, called the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI), has been created for this purpose and has charged only one other individual so far.
Ross Barnett, director of investigations at OSI, said Roberts-Smith's arrest was a significant step under challenging circumstances.
The OSI has been tasked with investigating literally dozens of murders alleged to have been committed in the middle of a war zone in a country 9,000km from Australia, he said.
We can't go to that country, we don't have access to the crime scenes... We don't have photographs, site plans, measurements, the recovery of projectiles, blood spatter analysis... We don't have access to the deceased.
Barrett emphasized that the alleged misconduct was limited to a very small section of our trusted and respected ADF.
The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, stated earlier that he would refrain from commenting further on the case due to its judicial nature, emphasizing the importance of non-political engagement.
The Australian War Memorial has announced another review of its exhibit on Ben Roberts-Smith, updating the information related to his medals and achievements in light of the ongoing allegations.
Roberts-Smith was once hailed as a national hero, acknowledged for his bravery during an attack on his SAS platoon by Taliban fighters.
In his pursuit to clear his name, he waged a costly legal battle dubbed Australia's trial of the century, spanning seven years.
However, a Federal Court judge found that Roberts-Smith participated in at least four murders, a judgement that was upheld on appeal.
Judge Anthony Besanko determined that he had ordered unarmed men to be shot to blood inexperienced soldiers, was involved in the death of a handcuffed farmer whom he pushed off a cliff, and had executed a captured Taliban fighter whose prosthetic leg was taken as a trophy.
