Australian police on Tuesday arrested Ben Roberts-Smith, a decorated former special-forces soldier, charging him with five counts of war crime murder. The arrest of the 47-year-old veteran, widely reported as Australia's most decorated living soldier, sets the stage for a rare criminal prosecution related to Australia's involvement in the Afghanistan conflict.

Mr. Roberts-Smith, a former Special Air Service Regiment corporal who received Australia’s highest military honor, the Victoria Cross, for his service, is accused of offenses relating to his time in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. Police allege that the victims were detained, unarmed, and under the control of Australian troops when they were killed. He is alleged to have either shot these individuals or ordered others to shoot them. Mr. Roberts-Smith was held overnight and is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Wednesday, where he may apply for bail. No plea has yet been entered, and if convicted, he could face a life sentence. A lawyer for Mr. Roberts-Smith could not be reached for comment.

The charges follow a lengthy period of scrutiny for Mr. Roberts-Smith. He previously initiated a defamation lawsuit in 2023 against Australian newspapers that had published articles alleging he killed unarmed Afghans and coerced others into human-rights abuses. He lost that legal challenge, with a judge finding the newspapers had "established the substantial truth" of many claims against him. These claims included allegations that he committed murder by machine-gunning a man with a prosthetic leg, which he then allegedly brought back to Australia and encouraged soldiers to use as a novelty item. His appeals against this judgment were unsuccessful.

This prosecution comes as Australia continues to confront the legacy of its participation in the war in Afghanistan, where more than 1,500 Australian personnel were deployed at the peak of the conflict. A government inquiry in 2020 found credible information that Australian special forces unlawfully killed 39 prisoners, farmers, and other civilians in Afghanistan. Since then, police and a specialized agency have launched dozens of investigations. While 39 investigations are no longer active, another former soldier has been charged with one murder-related war crime, and 10 investigations remain ongoing.

Legal experts view the prosecution as a significant test of Australia's commitment and capability to prosecute its own military personnel for international crimes, with implications for the nation's standing under international law. They note that prosecutors in a criminal case face a higher burden of proof compared to the defamation litigation, with much potentially hinging on testimony from other Australian troops present at the time.