The Australian Federal Police confirmed on Tuesday that a 47-year-old former member of the Australian Defence Force has been taken into custody at Sydney Airport and will face five charges of war-crime murder tied to events in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. Media organizations have named the suspect as Ben Roberts-Smith.
Police said the five charges allege the murder of five people while deployed to Afghanistan. Each count carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment under Australian law.
Allegations and official account
At a press conference, AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said investigators will allege the victims were not participating in hostilities at the time they were killed. "It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed and were under the control of ADF members when they were killed," Barrett said.
"It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed and were under the control of ADF members when they were killed." - AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett
Police also indicated they will allege the victims were either shot by the accused or shot by subordinates acting on his orders and in his presence.
Background and prior legal actions
The accused has been widely recognised for combat service. He was awarded several high military honours, including the Victoria Cross, and was publicly celebrated for actions during six tours of Afghanistan conducted from 2006 to 2012.
Allegations of wrongdoing emerged in media reports beginning in 2018. Those reports included claims that the accused had killed an unarmed Afghan teenager and had ordered the killing of a handcuffed man after kicking him off a cliff. The accused has consistently denied wrongdoing during his service.
Those media reports were the subject of an extensive defamation trial, which became the costliest in Australia. In 2023, a Federal Court judge found the newspapers had proven four of the six murder allegations they had published. A final appeal was dismissed by the High Court in September 2025.
Official investigations and practical constraints
In 2020, a report found credible evidence that members of Australia’s Special Air Service Regiment had killed dozens of unarmed prisoners during the long Afghan conflict. Following that and related reporting, the Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator opened a joint inquiry in 2021 to examine allegations of war crimes by Australian defence personnel in Afghanistan.
Ross Barnett, director of investigations at the Office of the Special Investigator, described the investigative work as complex and time-consuming. He explained authorities face significant practical limitations because they cannot access the original Afghan crime scenes to gather standard forensic material. "We don’t have access to the crime scenes, we don’t have photographs, site plans, measurements, the recovery of projectiles, blood spatter analysis, all of those things we would normally get at a crime scene," Barnett said at the press conference.
The joint OSI-AFP effort has opened 53 investigations into alleged war crimes by Australian Defence Force members in Afghanistan, with 10 of those investigations still active, the agencies said. The OSI also noted that another former special forces soldier is scheduled to face a war-crime murder trial next February.
Barnett added that should evidence indicate additional individuals require charging, authorities will proceed accordingly.
Next legal steps and response
Police said the accused will be presented to a local court in the state of New South Wales later on Tuesday. A lawyer who represented the accused during the defamation proceedings did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Summary of developments
- A 47-year-old former ADF member, named by media as Ben Roberts-Smith, was arrested at Sydney Airport and will face five counts of war-crime murder linked to killings in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2012.
- The AFP alleges the victims were detained, unarmed and under ADF control when killed, and that the accused either shot the victims or ordered subordinates to do so in his presence.
- The case follows earlier media reporting and an expensive defamation trial, in which a Federal Court judge found in 2023 that newspapers had proven four of six murder allegations; a final appeal was dismissed by the High Court in September 2025.