Ex-soldado australiano acusado de cometer 5 homicídios por crimes de guerra no Afeganistão

MELBOURNE, Austrália (AP) — O mais condecorado veterano australiano vivo, Ben Roberts-Smith, enfrenta acusações de crimes de guerra, com base na alegação de que matou cinco afegãos desarmados enquanto servia no Afeganistão, entre 2009 e 2012, segundo a polícia e a comunicação social na terça-feira.

A polícia não confirmou o nome do ex-soldado de 47 anos que foi detido na terça-feira. Mas tem sido amplamente divulgado na comunicação social tratar-se de Roberts-Smith, um antigo cabo do Regimento do Serviço Aéreo Especial (SAS) que recebeu tanto a Victoria Cross como a Medal of Gallantry pelo seu serviço no Afeganistão.

A polícia acusou-o na terça-feira de cinco crimes de guerra de homicídio. Permanecerá sob custódia durante a noite e fará a sua primeira comparência em tribunal na quarta-feira, disse um comunicado da polícia.

Ele poderá potencialmente apresentar um pedido de libertação sob fiança na quarta-feira.

Roberts-Smith é apenas o segundo veterano australiano da campanha no Afeganistão a ser acusado de um crime de guerra.

O antigo militar do SAS Oliver Schulz, 44, declarou-se não culpado de uma acusação de homicídio por crime de guerra. É acusado de disparar três vezes na cabeça contra o homem afegão Dad Mohammad num campo de trigo na província de Uruzgan, em maio de 2012.

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War crime murder carries a potential sentence of life in prison. It’s a federal crime in Australia, defined as the intentional killing in the context of armed conflict of a person who is not taking an active part in hostilities, such as civilians, prisoners of war or wounded soldiers.

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Police arrested Roberts-Smith at Sydney Airport on Tuesday after he arrived on a flight from Brisbane, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said.

“It will be alleged that the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan. It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed and were under the control of ADF members when they were killed,” Barrett told reporters, referring to the Australian Defense Force.

“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,” Barrett added.

A civil court has already found similar allegations against Roberts-Smith credible in a defamation suit he brought after several newspapers published articles in 2018 accusing him of a range of war crimes. In 2023, a federal judge rejected Roberts-Smith’s claims and ruled that he likely killed four noncombatants unlawfully in 2009 and 2012.

But while the civil court found the war crimes allegations were mostly proved on a balance of probabilities, the new charges would have to be proved in a criminal court to a higher standard of beyond reasonable doubt.

In September, Australia’s High Court said it would not hear an appeal, ending his chances of overturning the ruling.

Nick McKenzie, a reporter unsuccessfully sued for defamation by Roberts-Smith who has been investigating allegations against the soldier since 2017, expected SAS colleagues to testify in the criminal trial as they had during the civil trial.

“You’re investigating conduct allegedly taken by some members of the most secretive, elite fighting force Australia has. The journalism task is difficult. What’s been really difficult, though, is those brave SAS witnesses” testifying, McKenzie told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“For them to come forward and say: ‘Well, we served our country bravely like Ben Roberts-Smith did, alongside him in Afghanistan, but we saw things with our own eyes that we feel uncomfortable about.’ These brave soldiers, some of them broke down after they testified, so difficult was it for them to stand up and speak out,” McKenzie added.

The charges follow a military report released in 2020 that found evidence that elite Australian SAS and commando regiment troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and other noncombatants.

Barrett said few soldiers were involved in the new allegations.

“The alleged conduct related to these charges is confined to a very small section of our trusted and respected ADF which helps keep this country safe,” Barrett said.

“The overwhelming majority of our ADF do our country proud. Today’s charges are not reflective of the majority of members who serve under our Australian flag with honor, with distinction and with the values of a democratic nation,” she added.

The Office of the Special Investigator was established to work with police on the war crime allegations. The office’s director of investigations Ross Barnett said allegations of 53 war crimes had been investigated and 39 of those investigations had concluded without charges. Around 40,000 Australian military personnel served in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021, of whom 41 were killed.