Ben Roberts-Smith has been granted bail under strict conditions in a hearing on Friday after he was charged with five counts of war crime murder.
Roberts-Smith appeared in court for the bail hearing via videolink, wearing a prison-issued green sweatshirt. He made the bail application in front of Judge Greg Grogin.
Roberts-Smith had already spent more than a week in custody on remand at Silverwater Prison Complex. He was arrested last Tuesday at Sydney Domestic Airport. He has been charged with five counts of the war crime of murder, relating to alleged offences in Afghanistan between April 2009 and October 2012. Roberts-Smith has always denied any wrongdoing.
Roberts-Smith previously lost a high-profile defamation case against Nine newspapers, which was a civil case. Roberts-Smith has consistently denied the allegations relating to that case.
In a hearing in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on Friday, the prosecutor argued that Roberts-Smith had made “advanced plans to relocate overseas” before he was arrested last week.
“The accused was on the cusp of attempting to relocate overseas, and a decision had been made to withhold that information from authorities with whom he was in contact,” Simon Buchen SC, for the prosecution, said on Friday morning.
Buchen also argued that Roberts-Smith would attempt to interfere with witnesses and evidence if he was granted bail.
Defence lawyer Slade Howell told the court Roberts-Smith was not a flight risk and that his case met the threshold of “exceptional circumstances” allowing for his release on bail. Howell said the case could face significant delays because of its complexity and national security concerns.
Howell also argued that there is no safe correctional facility for Roberts-Smith, and that he had been cooperating with authorities.
“The allegations all involve highly contested matters of fact. They concern events which took place overseas in a war zone between 14 and 17 years ago,” he said.
“Fundamentally, the fairness of the proceedings will be compromised by the applicant having to defend himself from remand custody.”
“There will be no workable solution to this … to access the evidence, to speak openly with his lawyers, he must be at liberty on bail.”