One of Australia’s most celebrated military figures, Ben Roberts-Smith, has broken his silence for the first time since being hit with five war crime-related murder charges last week, issuing a public statement emphatically rejecting every allegation against him.
The 47-year-old former Special Air Service (SAS) corporal, who is Australia’s highest-decorated living soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, was granted bail this Friday following his arrest earlier this month at Sydney International Airport on April 7. In his first public remarks since the charges were filed, Roberts-Smith said he remains unapologetically proud of his military deployment to Afghanistan, and is ready to use the upcoming criminal proceedings as a platform to permanently clear his reputation of wrongdoing.
“I understand this journey will be difficult. But I can promise everybody that I have never run from a fight in my life,” Roberts-Smith told reporters, adding that while he never wished to face these criminal charges, he welcomes the chance to resolve the allegations once and for all.
Across his years of service in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012, Roberts-Smith stands accused of involvement in the unlawful killings of unarmed Afghan detainees, prosecutors allege. The charges include one count of murder, one count of joint murder, and three counts of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring murder. Roberts-Smith has pushed back forcefully against these claims, asserting that every action he took during his deployment aligned with his personal values, his military training, and the official rules of engagement governing Australian forces.
The former soldier also criticized the circumstances of his arrest as an unnecessary, over-the-top media spectacle, and declined to answer any follow-up questions from journalists after reading his prepared statement.
In granting bail, the presiding judge noted that Roberts-Smith’s case is highly unusual. If bail had been denied, the judge explained, the veteran could have waited years in pre-trial custody before his case even went to trial, an outcome that could not be justified under the circumstances.
The criminal proceedings mark the latest chapter in a years-long legal battle over the allegations against Roberts-Smith. The case traces its origins back to 2018, when Nine Entertainment newspapers first published reports detailing the alleged war crimes. Roberts-Smith subsequently filed a civil defamation suit against the outlets, and in 2023, the Federal Court ruled that on the balance of probabilities, several of the murder allegations held substantial truth. Roberts-Smith’s appeal against that ruling was rejected in 2024, setting the stage for the criminal charges that were filed earlier this month. This high-profile case also marks the first time any Australian court has ever considered formal war crime allegations against members of the country’s military deployed overseas.