Fallen hero Ben Roberts-Smith to stay in jail for TWO months as he faces court on war crimes charges

By CHARLOTTE KARP, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 00:50, 8 April 2026 | Updated: 00:58, 8 April 2026 Australia's most decorated soldier Ben Roberts-Smith will remain in custody for two months after being charged with war crimes. Roberts-Smith, 47, was arrested by Australian Federal Police on Tuesday over allegations that he killed unarmed civilians while deployed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. He is also accused of failing to stop members of his unit from killing three others. The Victoria Cross recipient did not front Bail Court himself when his matter was mentioned on Wednesday morning, and was instead represented by criminal lawyer Jordan Portokalli. Mr Portokalli told the court there was no application for bail, and sought to have the matter relisted in Sydney's Downing Centre later on Wednesday. 'In short, we're not making an application for release today, that's the first thing,' he said. 'The second is we're seeking for the matter to be listed for mention today in person at the Downing Centre, but that might be a pipe dream.' The judge said he did not have access tot he Downing Centre diary and listed the matter for brief status on June 4, when Roberts-Smith will face the court from prison via audio-visual link. Australia's most decorated soldier Ben Roberts-Smith was arrested on Tuesday morning Roberts-Smith was charged with five counts of war crimes following a five-year joint investigation by the Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator. Armed AFP officers swooped when Roberts-Smith arrived on a Qantas flight from Brisbane. He was taken to Mascot police station where he was refused bail.  Footage captured Roberts-Smith wearing a polo shirt, jeans and cap, being led down a stairway off the aircraft and escorted across the tarmac to a white four-wheel drive.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.