Ben Roberts-Smith Vows to Contest War Crime Charges After Sydney Arrest
Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most decorated living soldier, has publicly rejected all allegations against him, asserting his intention to contest five charges of war crime murder. The Victoria Cross recipient, released on bail after his arrest in Sydney on 7 April, stated he was "proud of my service in Afghanistan" and would use the legal proceedings to "finally" clear his name.
"I understand this journey will be difficult," Roberts-Smith remarked, adding, "But I can promise everybody that I have never run from a fight in my life."
The 47-year-old former corporal in Australia's Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment is accused of involvement in the deaths of unarmed Afghan detainees, either directly or by ordering a subordinate, between 2009 and 2012. He described his arrest as a "sensational" and "unnecessary spectacle," declining to answer journalists' questions.
Roberts-Smith's criminal charges follow a 2023 civil defamation case, which he lost. In that instance, a judge determined there was "substantial truth" to some of the murder claims initially published by Nine newspapers in 2018. That high-profile trial marked the first time an Australian court examined allegations of war crimes by Australian forces. Roberts-Smith had argued the alleged killings were lawful acts of combat or did not occur. He now faces one charge of war crime murder, one of jointly commissioning a murder, and three charges related to aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring a murder.
