🌙 Good Evening! Catch up on today’s top story.
Ben Roberts-Smith, who denies all wrongdoing, previously lost a landmark defamation case over the alleged murders.
Watch LiveBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessTechnologyHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesHomeNewsUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessWorld of BusinessTechnology of BusinessNYSE Opening BellTechnologyWatch DocumentariesArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindHealthWatch DocumentariesCultureWatch DocumentariesFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsWatch DocumentariesArts in MotionTravelWatch DocumentariesDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthWatch DocumentariesScienceNatural WondersClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoWatch DocumentariesBBC MaestroDiscover the WorldLiveLive NewsLive SportDocumentariesHomeNewsSportBusinessTechnologyHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesWeatherNewslettersWatch LiveAustralia's most-decorated living soldier charged over alleged war crimes10 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleTiffanie TurnbullSydneyWatch: Police released blurred footage of Ben Roberts-Smith being arrested at Sydney airportAustralia's most-decorated living soldier has been charged over allegations he committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
Ben Roberts-Smith - who left the defence force in 2013 - was arrested at Sydney airport on Tuesday and will face court over five counts of the war crime of murder. He will spend the night in a cell, before a bail hearing on Wednesday.
A defamation judgement in 2023 found the former corporal in Australia's Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) had killed several unarmed Afghans.
The 47-year-old Victoria Cross recipient denies all wrongdoing, and has previously said the allegations against him - which have not yet been assessed at a criminal standard - were "egregious" and "spiteful".
The civil trial was the first time in history any court has examined claims of war crimes by Australian forces.
Roberts-Smith argued the alleged killings occurred legally during combat or did not happen at all, and last year lost an appeal against the Federal Court finding.
At a news conference in Sydney on Tuesday, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed a 47-year-old former soldier had been arrested and said he would be charged with killing unarmed detainees while serving in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.
He faces one charge of the war crime of murder, one of jointly commissioning a murder, and three of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring a murder.
"It will be alleged the victims were shot by the accused or shot by subordinate members of the ADF [Australian Defence Force] in the presence of, and acting on the orders of, the accused," Commissioner Krissy Barrett said.
In 2020, a landmark investigation known as the Brereton Report found "credible evidence" that elite Australian soldiers unlawfully killed 39 people in Afghanistan, recommending 19 current or former ADF members be investigated.
A specialist team - called the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) - was set up to do so. It has charged only one other person so far.
Ross Barnett, director of investigations at OSI, said
0 Comments