Ben Roberts Smith was seen as one of Australia’s greatest modern soldiers. He received the Victoria Cross, worked as a top business executive, and was held up as a symbol of military bravery.
That image has now fallen apart completely. It was not brought down by enemies or outsiders. It was brought down by the soldiers who served with him.
The Australian Federal Police arrested Roberts Smith at Sydney Airport on 7 April 2026. He was charged with five counts of the war crime of murder under the Criminal Code Act 1995. He could face life in prison.
He is being held at the Silverwater Correctional Complex. His bail review hearing was set for today, 17 April. A status mention hearing is scheduled for 4 June.
The criminal charges come after years of growing testimony from his own fellow soldiers. In 2021, 21 current and former SAS soldiers came to court to testify against Roberts Smith during his defamation trial.
He had sued several Nine Entertainment newspapers over reports that he committed war crimes in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012 and that decision backfired badly.
Also read: The War Lesson That Made ALP Go Big on Drones.
Federal Court Justice Anthony Besanko found that four murder allegations against Roberts Smith had been proven on the balance of probabilities.
The court found it was substantially true that Roberts Smith killed an unarmed man with a prosthetic leg during a 2009 mission. It also found he pressured a junior soldier to execute an elderly, unarmed Afghan civilian in order to blood the rookie.
The testimony from soldiers who served with him showed a dark side to operations that had earned public praise.
One soldier, given the codename Person 18, told the court that comrades had tried to report war crimes and bullying to a superior.
The superior told them the matter was way above his head. Person 18 also said he later received anonymous threatening letters telling him to take back his evidence or face consequences.
The judge also found that Roberts Smith was not a reliable witness. He said Roberts Smith had a clear reason to lie. The judge also said he believed Roberts Smith had threatened a soldier who gave evidence against him.
On 16 April, it was reported that Roberts Smith was seeking public funding for his criminal defence. The case now moves to its next stage as the criminal courts take over from the civil courts.
What his former comrades were willing to say under oath has already changed the public record. Whether it leads to a criminal conviction is still unclear but the years of silence are over.
