SYDNEY, NSW. — Former SAS Australian Defence Force member, Ben Roberts-Smith, 47, has been arrested and is expected to be charged with five counts of war crime – murder under a joint investigation between the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) and the AFP.
Roberts-Smith was arrested earlier today at Sydney Domestic Airport and is expected to be charged with the following offences under section 268.70(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth):
- The war crime of murder, in that he intentionally caused the death of a person, on or about 12 April, 2009, at Kakarak, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan;
- The war crime of murder, in that he aided, abetted, counselled or procured another person to intentionally cause the death of a person, on or about April 12, 2009, at Kakarak, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan;
- The war crime of murder, in that he aided, abetted, counselled or procured another person to intentionally cause the death of a person, on or about September 11, 2012, at Darwan, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan;
- The war crime of murder, with another person, in that they intentionally caused the death of a person, on or about October 20, 2012, in Syahchow, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan; and,
- The war crime of murder, in that he aided, abetted, counselled or procured another person to intentionally cause the death of a person, on or about October 20, 2012, at Syahchow, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan.
The maximum penalty for the offence of war crime – murder is life imprisonment.
It is expected Roberts-Smith will appear in a NSW court later today.
The joint OSI-AFP investigation began in 2021, and inquiries are continuing.
The OSI and AFP are investigating allegations of criminal offences under Australian law related to breaches of the Laws of Armed Conflict by Australian Defence Force personnel in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.
The joint OSI-AFP investigation has, in total, commenced 53 investigations involving allegations of war crimes by Australian Defence Force members in Afghanistan.
Thirty-nine of these matters are no longer under active investigation, subject to any new evidence emerging. These matters have been comprehensively investigated, and sufficient evidence of a war crime does not exist to support the referral of a brief of evidence to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. A further 10 investigations are ongoing.
One other investigation has resulted in a former Australian Special Forces solider being charged with one count of war crime – murder. This matter has been listed for trial in February 2027 in the NSW Supreme Court.
The OSI and AFP are working to complete the remaining investigations as expeditiously as possible, cognisant of the welfare of those involved and the impact on the broader Defence community.
Should you need health and wellbeing support, details for a range of services are available on the OSI website: https://www.osi.gov.au/support-services.
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