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 corporal in Australia's Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) had killed several unarmed Afghans.
The 47-year-old Victoria Cross recipient denies all wrongdoing, and has previously said the allegations against him - which have not yet been assessed at a criminal standard - were egregious and spiteful.
The civil trial was the first time in history any court has examined 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 19 current or former ADF members be investigated.
A specialist team - called the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) - was set up to do so. It has charged only one other person 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.
Barrett added that allegations of misconduct were confined to a very small section of our trusted and respected ADF.
Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would not comment on the case as it is before the courts.
Australia's War Memorial announced it would again review its exhibit concerning Roberts-Smith, amid ongoing allegations and changing legal circumstances.
At the time Nine newspapers first published reports of the allegations in 2018, Roberts-Smith was considered a national hero, having been awarded Australia's highest military honor for single-handedly overpowering Taliban fighters attacking his SAS platoon.
However, a Federal Court judge found that Roberts-Smith had taken part in at least four murders, a judgement upheld on appeal. The allegations highlight serious concerns regarding the conduct of some Australian forces during the war in Afghanistan.
