Decorated Australian soldier Ben Roberts-Smith charged with war crimes

Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most-decorated living soldier, appeared in a Sydney courtroom via video link on Friday to face war crimes charges for the first time.

The former Special Air Service (SAS) corporal has been charged with five counts of murder allegedly committed during his deployment in Afghanistan.

Court documents detail serious allegations including the murder of a disabled Afghan detainee, the killing of a handcuffed prisoner by being kicked off a cliff, ordering executions of detainees as part of an initiation practice called "blooding," and planting evidence to cover up misconduct.

Roberts-Smith, aged 47, denies all the claims.

His lawyer described the case as "unchartered legal territory" for Australia, which has never before held a war crimes trial.

The charges relate to incidents in April 2009 at a compound known as "Whiskey 108" near Tarin Kowt in central Afghanistan.

Australian troops, including Roberts-Smith's SAS unit, were called in to clear the site after an airstrike.

Two men, identified as Mohammad Essa and his son Ahmadullah, were detained there.

Ahmadullah, who had a prosthetic leg, was allegedly carried outside the compound by Roberts-Smith, thrown to the ground, and shot multiple times with a belt-fed machine gun.

Several Australian Defence Force members reportedly witnessed this.

Inside the compound, Roberts-Smith allegedly ordered a rookie soldier to shoot Mohammad Essa, who was placed on his knees.

The court documents say Roberts-Smith borrowed a firearm suppressor before giving the order.

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