A court in Australia on April 17 granted bail to Ben Roberts-Smith, the country’s most well-known living soldier, as he faces five charges of murder of civilians during the war in Afghanistan.
Roberts-Smith, described as one of Australia’s most highly decorated former soldiers and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, is accused of killing civilians between 2009 and 2012 during deployments with special forces in Afghanistan. Each charge carries a potential life sentence.
He has not entered a plea and has consistently denied all allegations. During the hearing, the judge said: “I am satisfied that the proposed conditions ameliorate the unacceptable risk of flight – that is failing to apply – and interfering with witnesses or evidence, and I will be granting bail.”
Under the court order, he must report to police three times a week and is restricted to using a single phone and computer, both subject to monitoring. A security surety of $250,000 was also imposed.
In a previous civil defamation case, a court found some of the allegations against him to be substantiated, stating that evidence supported claims of the killing of civilians in Afghanistan.
The case is part of wider investigations into the conduct of Australian special forces during the Afghanistan war. Another Australian soldier has also previously faced war crimes charges over the killing of a civilian in 2012.
