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Australian soldier arrested for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan
SYDNEY - One of Australia’s most-decorated soldiers was arrested on April 7 for allegedly murdering unarmed prisoners while serving in Afghanistan, police and local media said following a sweeping war crimes probe. The Australian Federal Police said they arrested a 47-year-old former Australian soldier, who was widely named in local media as Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith.Federal police commissioner Krissy Barrett said the soldier had been linked to a string of murders while serving in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.“The victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan,” she told reporters. “It will be alleged the victims were shot by the accused, or shot by subordinate members acting on the orders of the accused.”He would be charged with five counts of “war crime – murder”, she said.A former member of the Special Air Service Regiment, Mr Roberts-Smith was once lauded as Australia’s most distinguished living war hero. But his reputation took a major hit in 2018, when a series of newspaper reports first linked him to the murder of unarmed Afghan prisoners by Australian troops. Those reports would eventually trigger an ongoing police investigation into alleged war crimes carried out by Australian soldiers. Mr Roberts-Smith has maintained his innocence throughout, launching a multi-million-dollar legal suit against the newspapers that first reported on the allegations.Mr Roberts-Smith won the Victoria Cross – Australia’s highest military honour – for “conspicuous gallantry” in Afghanistan while on the hunt for a senior Taliban commander.He met Queen Elizabeth II and his image was hung in the hallowed halls of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.But after painstaking reporting, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald alleged his public persona masked a pattern of criminal and immoral behaviour.The papers alleged Mr Roberts-Smith had kicked an unarmed Afghan civilian off a cliff and ordered subordinates to shoot him.He was also said to have taken part in the machine-gunning of a man with a prosthetic leg, later using the limb as a drinking vessel with comrades.Australia deployed 39,000 troops to Afghanistan over two decades as part of US and NATO-led operations against the Taliban and other militant groups.As Australian veterans returned home, their actions have come into sharp legal focus.A 2020 military investigation found special forces personnel “unlawfully killed” 39 Afghan civilians and prison...
Ben Roberts-Smith: Australian soldier arrested over alleged war crimes ...
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."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," 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 added that allegations of misconduct were confined to "a very small section of our trusted and respected ADF"."The majority of the ADF do our country proud," she said.Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would not comment on the case as it is before the courts."[It] is very important that there not be political engagement," he said.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 honour for single-handedly overpowering Taliban fighters attacking his SAS platoon.In a bid to clear his name, he launched a high-profile legal battle - which spanned seven years, cost millions of dollars and was dubbed by some as Australia's "trial of the century".However a Federal Court judge found - on the balance o...
Former Australian Defence Force member arrested over alleged war crimes
The former defence force member was arrested at Sydney Airport as police and investigators probe alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.
Australian soldier arrested over alleged war crimes - BBC
4 hours ago ... Australia's most-decorated living soldier has been arrested over allegations he committed war crimes in Afghanistan, local media have reported. Ben Roberts- ...
