Who is Ben Roberts-Smith? Former decorated Australian soldier arrested for war crimes in Afghanistan; all you need to know

Ben Roberts-Smith, one of Australia's most decorated soldiers, has been arrested over allegations of war crimes. He was taken into custody at Sydney airport and due to face court in Sydney on Tuesday (April 7, 2026). The army veteran who received the Victoria Cross has been accused in a defamation suit of murdering unarmed civilians while serving in the Australian SAS in Afghanistan, according to Australian media reports.

The arrest of the former special forces soldier followed a five-year investigation, during which authorities secured the cooperation of SAS eyewitnesses. They are expected to allege that Roberts-Smith himself executed, and issued directions to junior soldiers to execute, at least half a dozen defenceless detainees during his time in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2012, The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported.

Roberts-Smith attempted to sue three newspapers over allegations he committed war crimes, murdered unarmed civilians and bullied his comrades, The Guardian reported. He lost a long-running and costly defamation trial, with the judge finding, on the civil standard of the “balance of probabilities", that he committed four murders while serving in the Australian military.

Allegations against Ben Roberts-Smith

Criminal charges had not been filed at the time of this report, but the investigation focused on claims that were strongly disputed by the former soldier.

According to the SMH, allegations against the veteran involved kicking an Afghan civilian off a cliff and directed a subordinate to execute the man in September 2011, executed a prisoner with a prosthetic leg during an Easter Sunday mission in southern Afghanistan in 2009 and ordered another subordinate to murder a second detainee captured in the same compound and ordered a junior SAS soldier to execute an unarmed detainee in a ritual known as blooding in 2012.

At the time when Roberts-Smith allegedly ordered that 2012 execution, he was the most decorated Commonwealth soldier to serve in Afghanistan. According to the SMH, if the allegations are proven true, he could be stripped of his medals and face life imprisonment. He appealed to the full bench of the federal court but lost, and the high court refused to hear a further appeal.

Who is Ben Roberts-Smith?

Born and brought up in Western Australia, Ben Roberts-Smith VC MG enlisted in the Australian Regular Army in 1996. According to the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association, following the completion of the requisite courses, he was posted to the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, where he saw active service in East Timor. In January 2003, he successfully completed the Australian Special Air Service Regiment Selection Course.

During his tenure with the regiment, he deployed on operations VALIANT, SLATE, SLIPPER, CATALYST and SLIPPER II. Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith was awarded the Medal for Gallantry for his actions in Afghanistan in 2006 and the Commendation for Distinguished Conduct in January 2014, the VCGCA website stated.

Roberts-Smith left the army in October 2013, and having studied for an MBA, Ben worked in the world of media, running Severn Network in Queensland.