Ben Roberts-Smith is expected to be charged with five counts of the war crime of murder following a lengthy investigation by the Australian Federal Police.
The 47-year-old former SAS soldier was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday after travelling from Brisbane.
He is expected to be charged over the alleged deaths of Afghan nationals between 2009 and 2012 and is due to appear in a New South Wales court later today.
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the allegations relate to civilians who were not participating in hostilities.
“It will be alleged the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan,” she said.
“It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed, and were under the control of ADF members when they were killed.”
“It will be the alleged the victims were shot by the accused or shot by subordinate members of the ADF in the presence of, and acting on the orders of the accused.”
Police will allege Roberts-Smith intentionally caused the death of a person, and aided, abetted, counselled or procured others to do the same, during incidents on April 12, 2009 at Kakarak, October 20, 2012 at Syahchow, and September 11, 2012 at Darwan in Afghanistan.
If he’s found guilty, Roberts-Smith faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The arrest follows a 2023 Federal Court decision in which Justice Anthony Besanko found, on the civil standard of the balance of probabilities, that Roberts-Smith was involved in the murder of four unarmed men.
The ruling came in Robert-Smith’s failed defamation case against Nine newspapers, including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times.
Those findings were made on the balance of probabilities, which is a lower standard of proof than the criminal requirement of beyond reasonable doubt.
An appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court was dismissed, and the High Court later refused leave to appeal.
Among the findings Roberts-Smith sought to overturn were allegations he was involved in the murder of a handcuffed Afghan man, Ali Jan, at Darwan in 2012, and the killings of two prisoners at a compound known as “Whiskey 108” in 2009.
According to those allegations, Roberts-Smith shot one man in the back and directed another “rookie” soldier to shoot a second prisoner.
Roberts-Smith has consistently denied the allegations and rejected the court’s findings.
“Sunlight is said to be the best disinfectant, and I believe one day soon the truth will prevail,” he said at the time.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declined to comment on the arrest.
“I have no intention of commenting on a matter that’s clearly before the courts,” he said at a press conference, adding it was important there be no political interference.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor also declined to comment on the case itself, saying “it’s important we respect” the legal process.
But he added: “We also need to respect the role of our special forces”.
“The vast majority of our special forces do the right thing,” he said.
“They are incredible people serving this nation and playing an extremely difficult role. I’m proud to support them each year in Pollie Pedal, and have done for many years now.
“This process needs to take its course, but it should not detract from the respect we show for our special forces in this country.”
Meanwhile, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has defended Roberts- Smith, saying on social media: “I remain steadfast in my support of Ben Roberts-Smith despite news of his arrest today.”
Image: 9News/ A Current Affair
