Australia's Hero Faces War Crime Charges

0:00On April 8th, Ben Robert Smith, Australia's most decorated living soldier and a Victoria cross-winner, got arrested right off a plane at Sydney. Airport this week, police charged the former Special Air Service Corporal with five counts of murder as war crimes from his time in Afghanistan. This marks a huge shift for a guy once seen as a national hero. It all stems from a big civil defamation trial he lost three years back. The court ruled he likely killed unarmed detainees based on reports from his own unit. Robert Smith left the military in 2013 and calls the claim spife will lies from jealous mates. Now it's criminal charges, with life in prison on the line if he's convicted. Australians are reeling from this as it hits at the heart of their military pride. Experts say it's unprecedented. First time a Victoria cross-holder faces war crime charges like this anywhere. The Brayerton report exposed credible evidence of elite troops killing 39 civilians, shaking the Anzac legend that's court a national identity.

1:03The Office of the Special Investigator took five years to build this case, hampered by no access to Afghan crime scenes, no bodies for exams, and soldiers reluctant to testify against brothers and arms. They've charged just one other ex-ass guy so far, Oliver Schultz, amid 53 probes. Trials like this will drag on for years, wrestling with old evidence, protected witnesses, and a public already steeped in details from the defamation. Saga, but pushing forward shows Australia's commitment to accountability, even for its biggest heroes, setting an example amid global reckoning on war, conduct. From around the world, powered by AI, this is Global News Today.