Ben Roberts-Smith to attend first Anzac Day service since war crime charges

Former soldier says he will ‘pay my respects’ at commemoration in Queensland where he has been living since being released on bail

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Ben Roberts-Smith will attend an Anzac Day service in Queensland on Saturday morning, describing the day as “sacred” to him, the first commemoration since he was criminally charged.

Roberts-Smith, the recipient of the Victoria Cross and once one of Australia’s most lionised soldiers, faces five charges of the war crime of murder, allegedly committed during his service with the SAS in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.