SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian court ordered bail with travel restrictions on Friday for the country's most decorated soldier, following his arrest on accusations of war crimes while deployed in Afghanistan more than a decade ago.
Police arrested and charged Ben Roberts-Smith, 47, with five counts of war crimes last week over the murder of five unarmed Afghan civilians between 2009 and 2012. Each charge carries a maximum term of jail for life.
Bail was "not punitive in nature", Judge Greg Grogin told a Sydney courtroom, adding that the veteran of the elite Special Air Service Regiment was entitled to a presumption of innocence though the charges were serious if proved, media said.
As the matter was likely to take "years to get before court", Grogin added, there were exceptional circumstances justifying bail, despite prosecutors' opposition to bail for fear Roberts-Smith might try to contact witnesses.
Roberts-Smith, who appeared via video link at the hearing, must furnish a surety of A$250,000 ($180,000) and refrain from contacting any prosecution witnesses, as bail conditions, in addition to the travel curbs.
Roberts-Smith spent more than a week in custody as his legal team awaited an in-person bail review hearing after police initially refused bail following the arrest.
Roberts-Smith has consistently denied the accusations of wrongdoing, many first reported by Nine Entertainment newspapers in a series of articles starting in 2018.
The Australian Federal Police said they would allege that his victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their deaths and were detained, unarmed and under the control of Australian forces when killed.
Police would also allege the victims were either shot by the accused or his subordinates acting on his orders and in his presence, they added.
Roberts-Smith lost a defamation suit over the media accusations and was found on the balance of probabilities to have been involved in the murder of four Afghan civilians.