2026年4月7日 / 美国东部时间早上6:50 / 哥伦比亚广播公司/美联社
据警方和媒体周二报道，澳大利亚现存功勋最卓著的退伍军人本·罗伯茨-史密斯面临战争罪指控，罪名是他在2009年至2012年服役阿富汗期间杀害了五名手无寸铁的阿富汗人。
警方尚未确认这名于周二被捕的47岁前士兵的身份。但媒体广泛报道称，此人正是罗伯茨-史密斯——前特种空勤团下士，曾因在阿富汗的服役经历被授予维多利亚十字勋章和英勇奖章。
警方声明称，其已于周二被控五项战争谋杀罪。他将被还押过夜，并于周三首次出庭受审。
他有可能在周三申请保释。
罗伯茨-史密斯仅为第二位在阿富汗战役后被控战争罪的澳大利亚退伍军人。
赛义德·汗/法新社/盖蒂图片社
44岁的前特种空勤团士兵奥利弗·舒尔茨对一项战争谋杀罪指控拒不认罪。他被控于2012年5月在乌鲁兹甘省的一片麦田中朝阿富汗男子达德·穆罕默德头部连开三枪。
战争谋杀罪最高可判处终身监禁。在澳大利亚，这属于联邦罪行，定义为在武装冲突背景下故意杀害未积极参与敌对行动的人员，例如平民、战俘或伤兵。
澳大利亚联邦警察局长克里西·巴雷特表示，警方于周二在悉尼机场逮捕了乘航班从布里斯班抵达的罗伯茨-史密斯。
“控方将指称，受害者在阿富汗遇害当时并未参与敌对行动。控方还将指称，受害者当时被拘留、手无寸铁，并处于澳大利亚国防军（ADF）成员的控制之下，”巴雷特在对记者表示时说道。
“控方还将指称，受害者是被被告开枪射杀，或是在被告在场并按其命令行事的澳大利亚国防军下属成员开枪射杀的，”巴雷特补充道。
“迈向全球正义的一步”
据路透社报道，罗伯茨-史密斯涉嫌杀害一名手无寸铁的阿富汗少年，并将一名戴着手铐的男子踢下悬崖，随后下令将其枪杀。据大赦国际称，他还涉及枪击一名佩戴假肢的伤者。
该组织在一份声明中称，罗伯茨-史密斯的被捕是“迈向全球正义和问责工作的关键一步”。
“澳大利亚当局现在必须确保所有可信指控都得到全面调查，并在适当时机提起公诉，”大赦国际澳大利亚分会战略活动家扎基·海达里说道。
此前在一场诽谤诉讼中，一家民事法院已认定针对罗伯茨-史密斯的类似指控属实。此事源于2018年数家报纸发表文章指控他犯下一系列战争罪，随后他提起了诉讼。2023年，一名联邦法官驳回了罗伯茨-史密斯的主张，并裁定他很可能在2009年和2012年非法杀害了四名非战斗人员。尽管民事法院基于盖然性权衡认定战争罪指控大多成立，但新的指控必须在刑事法庭上达到排除合理怀疑的更高举证标准才能成立。去年9月，澳大利亚高等法院表示不会受理上诉，终结了他推翻该判决的可能性。
此次指控源于2020年发布的一份军方报告，该报告发现证据表明，澳大利亚精英特种空勤团和突击团部队非法杀害了39名阿富汗囚犯、农民和其他非战斗人员。
巴雷特表示，此次指控涉及的士兵人数极少。
“与这些指控相关的涉嫌行为仅局限于我们值得信赖和尊敬的澳大利亚国防军中极小一部分人员，正是他们守护着这个国家的安全，”巴雷特说道。
“绝大多数澳大利亚国防军成员都为国家赢得了荣誉。今日的指控并不能代表在澳大利亚国旗下以荣誉、卓越和民主国家价值观服役的大多数成员，”她补充道。
特别调查办公室负责与警方合作调查战争罪指控。该办公室调查主任罗斯·巴尼特表示，他们已调查了53起战争罪指控，其中39起调查已结案，未提起指控。2001年至2021年间，约有4万名澳大利亚军人在阿富汗服役，其中41人阵亡。
罗伯茨-史密斯因2011年被授予维多利亚十字勋章而成为澳大利亚家喻户晓的人物，该勋章仅授予最英勇的战时壮举获得者。他曾会见伊丽莎白二世女王，其肖像被悬挂在澳大利亚战争纪念馆，甚至还被评为澳大利亚“年度父亲”。
路透社/安东尼·德夫林/联合通讯社/资料图片
法新社为本报道供稿。
One of Australia’s most decorated soldiers charged with committing 5 war crime murders in Afghanistan
April 7, 2026 / 6:50 AM EDT / CBS/AP
Australia’s most decorated living veteran, Ben Roberts-Smith, faces war crime charges on allegations that he killed five unarmed Afghans while serving in Afghanistan from 2009 and 2012, police and media reported on Tuesday.
Police have not confirmed the name of the 47-year-old former soldier who was arrested Tuesday. But he has been widely reported in the media to be Roberts-Smith, a former Special Air Service Regiment corporal who was awarded both the Victoria Cross and Medal of Gallantry for his service in Afghanistan.
Police charged him Tuesday with five counts of war crime murder. He will remain in custody overnight and make his first court appearance on Wednesday, a police statement said.
He will potentially apply for release on bail Wednesday.
Roberts-Smith is only the second Australian veteran of the Afghanistan campaign to be charged with a war crime.
Former member of Australia’s elite Special Air Service regiment Ben Roberts-Smith leaves the Federal Court in Sydney on May 1, 2025. SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images
Former SAS soldier Oliver Schulz, 44, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of war crime murder. He is accused of shooting Afghan man Dad Mohammad three times in the head in an Uruzgan province wheat field in May 2012.
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.
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.
“Step toward global justice”
Roberts-Smith allegedly killed an unarmed Afghan teenager and kicked a handcuffed man off a cliff before ordering him to be shot dead, the Reuters news agency reported. According to Amnesty International, he was also involved in the shooting of a wounded man with a prosthetic leg.
In a statement, the group called Roberts-Smith’s arrest a “critical step toward global justice and accountability efforts.”
“Australian authorities must now ensure all credible allegations are fully investigated and, where appropriate, prosecuted,” said Zaki Haidari, Amnesty International Australia’s strategic campaigner.
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.
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.
Roberts-Smith became a household name across Australia when he was awarded the Victoria Cross in 2011, a medal reserved for only the most courageous wartime exploits. He met Queen Elizabeth II, had his portrait hung at the Australian War Museum, and was even honored as the nation’s “father of the year.”
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II greets Australian SAS Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia, during an audience at Buckingham Palace in London, Nov. 15, 2011. REUTERS/Anthony Devlin/POOL/File Photo
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.
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