{"id":396,"date":"2026-04-17T06:23:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T06:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/?p=396"},"modified":"2026-04-17T06:23:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T06:23:02","slug":"australias-most-decorated-veteran-granted-bail-on-war-crimes-charges-related-to-afghan-deaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/?p=396","title":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s most decorated veteran granted bail on war crimes charges related to Afghan deaths"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dims.apnews.com\/dims4\/default\/01d0995\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5000x3332+0+1\/resize\/980x653!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2F52%2F48%2F1d252e2aa680887089a618eaef1e%2Ffb00e54fa5dd4d5295e35449748f762b\" width=\"100%\" \/><small>Ben Roberts-Smith arrives at the Federal Court in Sydney, Australia, on June 9, 2021. (AP Photo\/Rick Rycroft, File)<\/small><\/p>\n<p>2026-04-17T04:56:44Z<\/p>\n<p>MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) \u2014 Australia\u2019s most decorated living veteran, <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/australia-afghanistan-war-crime-ben-roberts-smith-345fb96c8a6f7eb825a303335f8a111c\">Ben Roberts-Smith<\/a><\/span>, was granted bail Friday 10 days after he was charged with war crimes in the killings of five people while serving in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>Judge Greg Grogin ruled in a Sydney court that the former Special Air Service Regiment corporal had established exceptional circumstances to justify his release from custody. Prosecutors had opposed bail and argued there was a risk that Roberts-Smith would flee Australia or interfere with witnesses and evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Roberts-Smith, 47, was arrested on April 7 and charged with five counts of war crime murder involving the deaths of five Afghans in Uruzgan province in 2009 and 2012.<\/p>\n<p>Australian law defines war crime murder as the intentional killing in a context of armed conflict of a person who is not taking an active part in the hostilities, such as a civilian, prisoner of war or a wounded soldier.<\/p>\n<p>Roberts-Smith was awarded both the Victoria Cross and Medal of Gallantry for his service in Afghanistan and is only the <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/australia-oliver-schulz-afghanistan-war-crime-trial-298018a9759660d6900d36281880e917\">second Australian veteran<\/a><\/span> of the Afghanistan campaign to be charged with a war crime.<\/p>\n<p>The charges follow a <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/australia-war-crimes-new-zealand-7d73ce2ff249f70fb19c1c4fd522785a\">military report<\/a><\/span> released in 2020 that found evidence elite SAS and commando regiment troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and other noncombatants. Around 40,000 Australian military personnel served in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021, of whom 41 were killed.<\/p>\n<p>    <a><\/a><\/p>\n<p>    <!-- AP \"Read More\" embed (place mid-article) --><\/p>\n<p>  <button type=\"button\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><br \/>\n    Read More <span aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><br \/>\n  <\/button><\/p>\n<p>Similar allegations against Roberts-Smith <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/australia-afghanistan-war-veteran-ben-robertssmith-6993876323bdeb02367733c91d0afbb0\">were found credible<\/a><\/span> in a civil court case in 2023 when a judge rejected his claims that newspaper articles defamed him. <\/p>\n<p>At that trial, Roberts-Smith testified he had never killed an unarmed Afghan and denied ever committing a war crime. He claimed he has the victim of spiteful fellow soldiers\u2019 lies and of others\u2019 envy of his medals.<\/p>\n<p>But while the civil court found the war crimes allegations were mostly proven on a balance of probabilities, the war crime murder charges would have to be proved in a criminal court to a higher standard of beyond reasonable doubt.<\/p>\n<p>Roberts-Smith is accused of personally shooting dead two victims. He allegedly ordered subordinates to shoot the other three victims.<\/p>\n<p>In opposing bail, prosecutor Simon Buchen described the charges against Roberts-Smith as \u201camong the most serious known to the criminal law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Buchen said Roberts-Smith had been \u201don the cusp of relocating overseas\u201d without telling authorities when he became aware that prosectors were considering charges.<\/p>\n<p>Roberts-Smith had made \u201cadvanced plans to relocate overseas. Consideration was being given to moving to various destinations overseas,\u201d Buchen told the court.<\/p>\n<p>    <a><\/a><\/p>\n<p>    <!-- AP Morning Wire Newsletter Embed (self-contained) --><\/p>\n<p>  <!-- Red AP Prompt Bar --><\/p>\n<p>    <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"48\" height=\"6\" viewbox=\"0 0 48 6\"><\/svg><\/p>\n<p>    <\/p>\n<p>    <strong>Sign up for Morning Wire:<\/strong><br \/>\n    Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day.<\/p>\n<p>        <label for=\"ap-newsletter-email-nlmw25\">Email address<\/label><\/p>\n<p>      <button type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n        Sign up<br \/>\n      <\/button><\/p>\n<p>      <label><\/label><\/p>\n<p>        <span><br \/>\n          By checking this box, you agree to AP&#8217;s<br \/>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/termsofservice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\n          and acknowledge that AP may collect and use your data pursuant to our<br \/>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/privacystatement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/p>\n<p role=\"alert\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<\/p>\n<p>Roberts-Smith faces a potential maximum sentence of life in prison on each conviction. He has yet to enter pleas.<\/p>\n<p>Defense lawyer Slade Howell told the bail hearing Roberts-Smith\u2019s case \u201cmay properly be described as exceptional in the sense that it is out of the ordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe use of domestic courts to prosecute alleged war crimes committed by a highly decorated Australian soldier deployed overseas repeatedly by the Australian government to fight a war on its behalf is unprecedented and is uncharted legal territory of the common law of this country,\u201d Howell said.<\/p>\n<p>Howell also said Roberts-Smith\u2019s \u201cproceedings will be beset by a multitude of delays, many of which are peculiar to these proceeding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Potential delays could arise if prosecutors decide to charge one or more of Roberts-Smith\u2019s fellow veterans, some of whom now live overseas, Howell said.<\/p>\n<p>Roberts-Smith took part in the bail hearing by video link and spoke only when asked by the judge to confirm that he could see and hear proceedings.<\/p>\n<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/author\/rod-mcguirk\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ROD MCGUIRK\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/dims.apnews.com\/dims4\/default\/0d145ff\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5204x5204+0+41\/resize\/100x100!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2F82%2F22%2Fa498d93d4cbfac0bec6ef3929f96%2Fmugshotmay8iii-rod-mcguirk.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<p>        <\/p>\n<p>                <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/author\/rod-mcguirk\">ROD MCGUIRK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>                McGuirk covers Australian and South Pacific news for The Associated Press. He is based in Melbourne.<\/p>\n<p>                        <a rel=\"noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#6517080602100c170e2504154b0a1702\" target=\"_blank\" data-social-service=\"mailto\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>        <svg><\/svg><\/p>\n<p>        <\/p>\n<p>    <span><br \/>\n        mailto<br \/>\n    <\/span><br \/>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ben Roberts-Smith arrives at the Federal Court in Sydney, Australia, on June 9, 2021. (AP Photo\/Rick Rycroft, File) 2026-04-17T04:56:44Z MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) \u2014 Australia\u2019s most decorated living veteran, Ben Roberts-Smith, was granted bail Friday 10 days after he was charged with war crimes in the killings of five people while serving in Afghanistan. Judge Greg&hellip;&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}