Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated soldier, had previously offered to voluntarily turn himself in if authorities intended to charge him with war crimes. However, he was unexpectedly arrested in a public setting in front of his teenage daughters.

According to a source close to Roberts-Smith, the arrest at Sydney Airport on Tuesday morning seemed designed to cause him “maximum distress.” The charges came after a comprehensive five-year investigation conducted jointly by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI). He faces five counts of “war crime – murder.”

The Victoria Cross recipient was apprehended by armed AFP officers upon his arrival on a Qantas flight from Brisbane. He was then taken to Mascot police station, where he was denied bail.

Video footage shows Roberts-Smith, dressed casually in a polo shirt, jeans, and a cap, being escorted down the airplane stairway and across the tarmac to a waiting white four-wheel drive vehicle.

His arrest was captured by a Nine News television crew that had been positioned at the airport, ready to film the 47-year-old as soon as his flight landed.

A Nine News television camera crew had been waiting at the airport to film the 47-year-old’s arrest when the plane touched down.

Nine newspapers first published claims Roberts-Smith had committed war crimes while serving with the SAS in Afghanistan in a series of stories run in 2018. 

A source close to the father-of-two said there was no need to arrest Roberts-Smith so publicly, after media had been tipped off, and in the presence of his daughters.

Ben Roberts-Smiths had offered to present himself to police if they were going to charge him with war crimes but was instead arrested in front of his teenager daughters. He is pictured being taken into custody

A source close to Australia’s most decorated soldier said authorities had set out to ‘inflict maximum distress’ when Roberts-Smith was taken into custody on Tuesday morning at Sydney Airport. He is pictured with Queen Elizabeth II

‘Mr Roberts-Smith has lived in Queensland since leaving the Special Forces in 2012,’ they told Daily Mail. 

‘He has never shied away from his accusers, nor sought to avoid scrutiny or place himself beyond the reach of Australian authorities.’

The source said Roberts-Smith’s legal team had repeatedly told the AFP and OSI he would present himself ‘at a time and place of their choosing should any charges be brought’.

‘Instead, he was arrested upon arrival in Sydney during a short visit with his children,’ the source said.

‘In doing so, authorities chose to inflict maximum distress in front of his two young daughters. 

‘It is particularly concerning that media, including Nine News, appeared to have been notified in advance.’ 

Roberts-Smith, who along with his VC earnt a Medal for Gallantry in Afghanistan, has always denied committing any war crimes while serving with the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

‘Mr Roberts-Smith is entitled to the presumption of innocence – a cornerstone of our justice system, and one he fought to defend in service of his country, that has to date been conspicuously absent in his case,’ the source said. ‘That must now change.’

Armed AFP officers swooped when the Victoria Cross recipient arrived on a Qantas flight from Brisbane and took him to Mascot police station

Footage captured Roberts-Smith wearing a polo shirt, jeans and cap, being led down a stairway off the aircraft and escorted across the tarmac to a white four-wheel drive

AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett did not use Roberts-Smith’s name during a press conference about his arrest early on Tuesday afternoon.  

‘It will be alleged the man was a member of the ADF when he was involved in the deaths of Afghan nationals between 2009 and 2012, in circumstances that constitute war crimes under the Commonwealth Criminal Code,’ Commissioner Barrett said.

‘It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed, and were under the control of the ADF members when they were killed.

‘It will be alleged the victims were shot by the accused or shot by subordinate members of the ADF in the presence of and acting on the orders of the accused.’

Commissioner Barrett said the Afghans ‘were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder’.

The AFP and OSI commenced 53 investigations involving allegations of war crimes by the ADF in Afghanistan, 39 of which are not being actively pursued, subject to further evidence emerging.

Ten investigations into allegations of criminal offences under Australian law related to breaches of the Laws of Armed Conflict by ADF personnel are ongoing. 

One investigation resulted in another former SAS soldier being charged with murder. That case has been listed for trial in February next year in the NSW Supreme Court.

Roberts-Smith (above) was charged with five counts of ‘war crime – murder’ following a joint investigation by the Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator

When asked why the investigations into alleged war crimes had taken so long, OSI director of investigations Ross Barnett said the matters were ‘incredibly complex’.

Mr Barnett said the OSI had been investigating ‘literally dozens of murders alleged to have been committed in the middle of a warzone, in a country 9,000km from Australia that we can no longer access’.

‘So, the challenge for investigators is – because we can’t go to that country – we don’t have access to the crime scene… ‘ he said.

‘So we don’t have photographs, site plans, measurements, the recovery of projectiles, blood-spatter analysis, all of those things we’d normally get at a crime scene.

‘We don’t have access to the deceased – there’s no post-mortem, therefore there’s no official cause of death, there’s no recovery of projectiles to link to weapons that might have been carried by members of the ADF.’

Roberts-Smith sued Nine newspapers and journalists Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters for defamation after they reported he had committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

In 2023, the Federal Court’s Justice Anthony Besanko found the claims that Roberts-Smith was responsible for the murder of four unarmed male civilians were substantially true, on the balance of probabilities.

McKenzie and Masters were first to report details of Roberts-Smith’s arrest on Tuesday morning.

Roberts-Smith sued Nine newspapers and journalists Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters for defamation after they reported he had committed war crimes in Afghanistan

Roberts-Smith appealed against Justice Besanko’s decision to the Full Court of the Federal Court but lost. He was refused leave to further appeal to the High Court. 

Roberts-Smith was charged on Tuesday afternoon with the following offences, which each carry a maximum penalty of life in jail:

• The war crime of murder, in that he intentionally caused the death of a person, on or about 12 April, 2009, at Kakarak, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan;

• The war crime of murder, in that he aided, abetted, counselled or procured another person to intentionally cause the death of a person, on or about 12 April, 2009, at Kakarak, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan;

• The war crime of murder, in that he aided, abetted, counselled or procured another person to intentionally cause the death of a person, on or about 11 September, 2012, at Darwan, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan;

• The war crime of murder, with another person, in that they intentionally caused the death of a person, on or about 20 October, 2012, in Syahchow, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan; and

• The war crime of murder, in that he aided, abetted, counselled or procured another person to intentionally cause the death of a person, on or about 20 October, 2012, at Syahchow, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan.

Roberts-Smith was refused bail to face court for the first time on Wednesday.