CONTROVERSIA
Portrait of Ben Roberts-Smith

Photo: Nick-D · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Born in Australia · Nationality Australian — Culture / media / celebrities + Sport / sports governance

Ben Roberts-Smith

Authoritarian regimes, wars and mass atrocities

Documented profile covering 9 controversies, including “Whiskey 108 / Kakarak: civil findings on two killings and pending criminal charges in 2026” and “Darwan / Ali Jan: civil finding concerning death after fall from cliff and pending criminal charge in 2026”.

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Profile No. 0854 · Updated on 12 October 2026

Portrait of Ben Roberts-Smith

Photo: Nick-D · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
9Documented controversies
10Sources
1Formal charge · all time1 pending
0Conviction

§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology

I. Documented controversies

Case · 3 documented stages

Whiskey 108 / Kakarak: civil findings on two killings and pending criminal charges in 2026

Formally charged
01

2009-2026

Whiskey 108 / Kakarak: civil findings on two killings and pending criminal charges in 2026

Formally charged

In his defamation trial, the Federal Court found, to the civil standard, the substantial truth of allegations that Roberts-Smith had killed one prisoner with a machine gun and ordered a second prisoner to be killed at Whiskey 108/Kakarak on 12 April 2009. In April 2026, the CDPP announced two criminal counts related to that date, among five counts of the war crime of murder.

Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    ABC Newsabc.net.auMediaHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutionscdpp.gov.auProsecutor's statementHigh reliability

Last verified: 3 September 2026

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02

2012-2026

Darwan / Ali Jan: civil finding concerning death after fall from cliff and pending criminal charge in 2026

Formally charged

The Federal Court found, to the civil standard, the allegation that Roberts-Smith had pushed or struck prisoner Ali Jan at the edge of a cliff in Darwan on 11 September 2012 and then ordered a subordinate to shoot him. One of the criminal charges filed in April 2026 relates to that date.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    The Guardiantheguardian.comMediaHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutionscdpp.gov.auProsecutor's statementHigh reliability

Last verified: 3 September 2026

Add to this entry

03

2012-2026

20 October 2012 mission: two war crime charges filed in 2026 after substantial truth concerning Syahchow not established in 2023

Formally charged

In April 2026, the CDPP announced two war crime charges relating to 20 October 2012, one for aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring murder and the other for joint commission. This was a separate criminal development, whereas in the 2023 civil trial the particulars of truth concerning Syahchow on 20 October had not been established.

Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutionscdpp.gov.auProsecutor's statementHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    ABC Newsabc.net.auMediaHigh reliability

Last verified: 3 September 2026

Add to this entry

04

2012; jugement 2023

Chinartu mission: adverse civil findings concerning involvement in a killing

Civil / administrative proceedings

In the defamation case, Justice Besanko found that Roberts-Smith's conduct during the Chinartu mission enabled the defendant media outlets to establish the substantial truth of disputed imputations concerning the killing of a prisoner.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    The Guardiantheguardian.comMediaHigh reliability

Last verified: 3 September 2026

Add to this entry

05

Afghanistan; jugement 2023

Unlawful assaults on persons under control: substantial truth established in civil proceedings

Civil / administrative proceedings

The Federal Court concluded that the media outlets had established the substantial truth of several imputations that Roberts-Smith had committed unlawful assaults on persons under control during deployments in Afghanistan.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    The Guardiantheguardian.comMediaHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    The Guardiantheguardian.comMediaHigh reliability

Last verified: 3 September 2026

Add to this entry

06

années 2010; jugement 2023

Bullying of fellow soldier: substantial truth established in defamation trial

Civil / administrative proceedings

The 2023 judgment found the substantial truth of the imputation that Roberts-Smith had intimidated and bullied another soldier, identified as Person 1 in the proceedings.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    The Guardiantheguardian.comMediaHigh reliability

Last verified: 3 September 2026

Add to this entry

07

2018; jugement 2023

Anonymous threatening letters to former SAS colleague: explicit judicial finding

No legal proceedings

Justice Besanko concluded that Roberts-Smith had arranged, through an intermediary, for two anonymous threatening letters to be sent to Person 18 to induce him to retract information provided to the war crimes inquiry.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    ABC Newsabc.net.auMediaHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    The Guardiantheguardian.comMediaHigh reliability

Last verified: 3 September 2026

Add to this entry

08

litige 2018-2023

Buried, undisclosed classified USB drives: judicial finding of concealment of relevant evidence

Civil / administrative proceedings

The judge concluded that Roberts-Smith had lied about USB drives containing sensitive/classified documents buried in his garden and had knowingly failed to produce them in several discovery affidavits despite knowing they were relevant.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    The Guardiantheguardian.comMediaHigh reliability

Last verified: 3 September 2026

Add to this entry

09

2018; jugement 2023

Domestic violence allegation: substantial truth not established, only contextual truth defence upheld

Civil / administrative proceedings

The articles challenged by Roberts-Smith contained an allegation that he had struck a former partner. The judge preferred certain aspects of the complainant's evidence but considered her testimony insufficiently reliable to conclude that the assault had occurred; substantial truth was therefore not established.

Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    ABC Newsabc.net.auMediaHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    The Guardiantheguardian.comMediaHigh reliability

Last verified: 3 September 2026

Add to this entry

II. Constellation of documented links

No documented link with another published profile for now.

Two profiles are linked when a documented controversy of one names the other. The link points to that controversy and its sources; it does not indicate a personal relationship.

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