Arrests

Arrest comes after Roberts-Smith lost case against journalists who said he was involved in murders of unarmed Afghan men.

Former Australian special forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has been arrested at Sydney airport and is expected to face charges for alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

The 47-year-old was expected to appear in a court in New South Wales later on Tuesday over five counts of the war crime of murder, related to unarmed Afghan nationals who “were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder”, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday, according to the ABC.

Barrett said the charges followed a “complex” investigation by the AFP news agency and the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) dating back to 2021.

The arrest comes after Roberts-Smith lost defamation proceedings he brought against journalists who had reported he was “complicit in and responsible for the murder” of three Afghan men.

An Australian judge found in 2023 that those journalists had not defamed Roberts-Smith, a ruling that was upheld by the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia in May last year.

Rawan Arraf, the executive director of the Australian Centre for International Justice, said the arrest was a “significant and long-awaited step for victims and affected communities” in Afghanistan, where Roberts-Smith was deployed multiple times.

“The proper investigation and prosecution of alleged war crimes by members of the Australian special forces in Afghanistan are essential to ensuring justice for Afghan victims and to Australia meeting its obligations under international law,” Arraf said in a statement.

About 39,000 Australian soldiers were deployed to Afghanistan as part of the United States and NATO-led operations against the Taliban and other armed groups over two decades.

Roberts-Smith’s case has drawn considerable scrutiny in Australia, including because prior to the charges, he had received the Victoria Cross medal for his fifth tour of Afghanistan, and was reportedly the most-decorated living Australian war veteran.

Meanwhile, former Australian army lawyer David McBride remains imprisoned in Australia over his role in revealing information about alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan.

Australian Senator David Shoebridge responded to the news of Roberts-Smith’s arrest by saying “Release David McBride” in a short post on X.

March 26 (UPI) — A Trump administration attorney admitted in federal court that the Department of Justice misrepresented an internal memo to justify arrests in immigration courts.

U.S. attorney Jay Clayton acknowledged in a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Kevin Castel that the department had been incorrectly relying on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo to make arrests in immigration courts. This led to agents showing up to immigration hearings and detaining dozens of people.

The memo, “2025 ICE Guidance,” directed federal agents that they “may conduct civil immigration enforcement actions in or near courthouses when they have credible information” that a person targeted for detainment would be “present at a specific location.”

Clayton wrote that the Trump administration was unaware of the error until Tuesday. ICE personnel received an email reminding them that “the May 27, 2025, Guidance does not apply to Executive Office for Immigration Review courts, regardless of their location.”

“Based on our discussions with ICE today, this regrettable error appears to have occurred because of agency attorney error,” Clayton wrote. “We deeply regret that this error has come to light at this late stage, after the parties have expended significant resources and time to litigate this case and this court has carefully considered Plaintiffs’ challenge to the 2025 ICE guidance.”

Civil Rights organizations brought a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the arrests of people attending immigration court hearings last year.

“In the months since the Court relied on the government’s representation to deny Plaintiffs preliminary relief, Defendants have continued arresting noncitizens at their immigration court hearings, resulting in their detention — often in facilities hundreds of miles away,” the New York Civil Liberties Union and American Civil Liberties Union responded in a court filing.

Amy Belsher, an attorney with the New York Civil Liberties Union representing plaintiffs, said in a statement that the admission by the Trump administration was a “shocking revelation.”

“It is yet again another example of ICE’s brazen disregard for the lives of immigrants in this country,” Belsher said in a statement. “It is now clearer than ever that there is no justification for ambushing and arresting people who are showing up for court.”

In January, former Milwaukee County, Wisc., Judge Hannah Dugan resigned from her post after being convicted for obstructing law enforcement last year. Dugan was charged after helping an immigrant evade federal immigration agents who showed up at their immigration hearing to detain them.

Dugan faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. She has not been sentenced.

Police make 12 arrests as demonstrators defy government restrictions to gather on Thames embankment.

Hundreds gathered in central London for the annual Al-Quds Day demonstration, an international show of solidarity with Palestinians that this year took place under sweeping new restrictions and a heavy police presence.

Crowds assembled on Sunday along the Albert Embankment of the River Thames, where demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, held banners, and chanted slogans – some carrying images of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed earlier this month during US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Police made 12 arrests during the event, including for showing support for a proscribed organisation and threatening or abusive behaviour.

Chants of “from the river to the sea” and “Israel is a terror state” were heard. Al-Quds Day is named after the Arabic name for Jerusalem.

More than 1,000 officers were deployed across the area ahead of what police Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan warned would still be “a difficult public order weekend”. Earlier estimates suggested 12,000 people could attend, but only hundreds showed up.

The demonstration marked the first time in more than a decade that authorities banned the march through the capital.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood approved Scotland Yard’s request for a month-long prohibition on marches, with the government citing public disorder risks linked to the “volatile situation in the Middle East”, and potential clashes between different groups of demonstrators.

Organisers from the Islamic Human Rights Commission proceeded with a “static” rally in defiance, telling supporters the event would go ahead regardless.

The group accused London police of having “capitulated to the pressure of the Zionist lobby”.

‘Words have consequences’

Al-Quds Day takes place annually on the final Friday of Ramadan, with rallies held worldwide in solidarity with Palestinians and in opposition to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory. It was held on Sunday in London as Friday was a regular workday.

Police put demonstrators on notice that “intifada” chants and displays of support for proscribed groups would result in arrest, with Adelekan stating “these words have consequences”.

On the opposite bank, a smaller counterprotest organised by Stop The Hate and the Lion Guard of Iran drew Iranian dissidents and others opposed to the Islamic Republic, some waving Israeli flags.

Scotland Yard used the River Thames as a physical barrier, with police boats patrolling the water and Lambeth Bridge closed to separate the two sides.

Both demonstrations were confined to the stretch between Vauxhall and Lambeth bridges and permitted only between 1pm and 3pm.

Both demonstrations wrapped up at 3pm, with police saying the security plan had worked and neither side attempted to breach conditions by marching.