Ben Roberts-Smith Arrested in War Crimes Investigation

Former Special Air Services soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has been arrested as part of an investigation into alleged war crimes.

Roberts-Smith, 47, was arrested at Sydney Airport today.

The Victoria Cross recipient served in multiple theatres overseas during his service with the armed forces, including Afghanistan.

In 2023, Roberts-Smith lost a defamation suit he launched against Nine newspapers The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald after an investigation published reports he had committed alleged war crimes during his Afghanistan deployment.

Nine is the publisher of this website.

The judge found, to the civil standard of defamation law, that Roberts-Smith had killed four unarmed Afghan men and had broken the rules of military engagement.

Roberts-Smith has always denied any wrongdoing in his service.

The Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator are set to address the media over the arrest early this afternoon.

More to come.