Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated surviving soldier, is accused of killing five unarmed Afghans while serving in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012, according to police and media reports on Tuesday. The identify of the 47-year-old former soldier who was taken into custody on Tuesday has not been verified by the police. However, the media has widely claimed that he is Roberts-Smith, a former corporal in the Special Air Service Regiment who received the Medal of Gallantry and the Victoria Cross for his service in Afghanistan.
He was accused of five charges of war crime murder by police on Tuesday. According to a police statement, he will be detained overnight and appear in court for the first time on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, he might submit an application for release on bond. Only two Australian veterans of the Afghanistan operation have been accused of war crimes, including Roberts-Smith. Oliver Schulz, a 44-year-old former SAS member, has entered a not guilty plea to a war crime murder accusation. In May 2012, he allegedly shot Afghan man Dad Mohammad three times in the head in a wheat field in the district of Uruzgan.
The maximum punishment for war crime murder is life in prison. The deliberate death of someone who is not actively participating in hostilities during an armed conflict, such as civilians, prisoners of war, or injured soldiers, is considered a federal offense in Australia. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett stated that Roberts-Smith was taken into custody at Sydney Airport on Tuesday after arriving on a flight from Brisbane.At the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan, it will be claimed that the victims were not engaged in hostilities. Referring to the Australian Defence Force, Barrett told reporters, “It will be alleged that the victims were detained, unarmed, and under the control of ADF members when they were killed.”
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