On April 7, 2026, Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most decorated living soldier, was arrested by the Australian Federal Police at Sydney Airport alongside his two children. He is facing five counts of war crime-related murder connected to his deployments to Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. In response to these developments, we, the undersigned, stand firmly for his innocence and continue to recognize him as a war hero who was previously hailed for his military exploits.

Throughout the entirety of this highly public saga, Roberts-Smith has consistently denied all allegations leveled against him. He has asserted that the accusations are misleading and that the killings in question were either legally justified during military combat or simply did not happen. Furthermore, the Director of Investigations at the OSI has admitted that gathering evidence from a restricted, war-torn environment like Afghanistan presents a highly challenging starting point. We believe these inherent difficulties cast reasonable doubt on the allegations.

We, the undersigned, refuse to abandon a man who risked his life on the front lines for Australia. We demand that the justice system affords Ben Roberts-Smith a fair, impartial trial that is completely untainted by the years of relentless media scrutiny. By signing this petition, we assert our support for his right to vigorously defend his innocence in court, and we stand by the sacrifices he made in service to our nation.

We the undersigned stand for the innocence of Ben Roberts Smith. We call him a war hero.