Ex-Australian SAS Member Charged with Afghan War Crimes

Ben Roberts-Smith, a former Australian Special Air Service (SAS) soldier and once the nation’s most decorated living serviceman, has been charged with five counts of war crimes, including murder. Arrested at Sydney airport, the charges relate to three incidents in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012, where Roberts-Smith allegedly killed or directed the killing of detained and unarmed Afghan nationals. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The alleged killings involve two d