Ben Roberts-Smith Charged with Five War Crime Murders

Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most decorated living soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday morning upon arriving from Brisbane and charged with five counts of war crime murder related to the deaths of unarmed Afghan nationals between 2009 and 2012.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett announced the charges during a press conference, describing the allegations as stemming from a joint investigation with the Office of the Special Investigator. The charges accuse Roberts-Smith, a 47-year-old former Special Air Service corporal who left the Australian Defence Force in 2013, of involvement in the killings of detainees who were not participating in hostilities. According to the AFP, the victims were unarmed and under the control of ADF members at the time, and were shot either by Roberts-Smith or by subordinates acting on his orders or in his presence. Each count carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment under the Commonwealth Criminal Code.

Roberts-Smith is scheduled to appear in a New South Wales court later on Tuesday. He has denied all allegations and is entitled to the presumption of innocence, as emphasized...