Top secret: orders made in Ben Roberts-Smith case
Morgan Reinwald |
National security concerns have been cited as court orders were made to protect classified material in accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith’s looming trial.
Roberts-Smith was arrested in April and charged with murdering or ordering the murders of five unarmed detainees while deployed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.
The classified nature of operations in Afghanistan has delayed the criminal proceedings, which inched forward at Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday.
“(There is) a risk of prejudice to national security,” barrister Jennifer Single SC, representing the commonwealth, said.
Ms Single handed over applications for 206 court orders under the National Security Information Act that concerned the disclosure, storage, protection, handling and destruction of classified material and evidence.
It allows Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient, to be handed the full suite of evidence against him that was previously withheld due to its sensitive nature.
The orders are quite long but necessary for the decorated former SAS soldier to have a fair trial, Judge Susan Horan said.
However, the prosecution had concerns.
Accessing Australian Defence Force information and engaging with people who don’t have an appropriate security clearance could cause further delays, crown prosecutor Julia Wang said.
Roberts-Smith’s solicitor Karen Espiner told the court that her client agreed to how the classified documents should be handled.
The court also varied Roberts-Smith’s bail conditions to allow him to relocate and live with family in Queensland long-term and report to a nearby police station twice a week, instead of a NSW police station.
The decorated soldier, who contests the charges, was absent from the media-packed courtroom on Tuesday.
Australia’s most decorated living soldier is accused of machine-gunning an Afghan prisoner Mohammed Essa and ordering the execution of his son Ahmadullah.
The then-SAS soldier allegedly placed firearms on the bodies to falsely claim they were enemy combatants, according to court documents.
In August 2012 at the village of Darwan, Roberts-Smith is accused of kicking a hand-cuffed Ali Jan off a 10-metre cliff before ordering that he be dragged over a creek bed and shot.
Two months later at Syahchow, he allegedly lined up two prisoners in a corn field, shooting one of them with another soldier.
Roberts-Smith has stated he will use the upcoming trial to clear his name.
Lifeline 13 11 14
Open Arms 1800 011 046
AAP