Australian ex-soldier Roberts-Smith granted bail in Afghan war crimes case

Former soldier is accused of murdering five people in Afghanistan.Former Australian special forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has been granted bail after spending 10 days in prison over alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.The 47-year-old was released on Friday after a judge said he would face “years and years” in prison before his case went to trial.Recommended Stories list of 2 itemslist 1 of 2Australian who blew whistle on alleged Afghan war crimes stands triallist 2 of 2Australian war crimes whistleblower David McBride jailed for six yearsend of listRoberts-Smith, who was awarded the prestigious Victoria Cross in 2011, was arrested in Sydney last week and charged with murdering five people in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.The former soldier denies all of the charges.Speaking after the ex-soldier was detained, Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Krissy Barrett said that “it will be alleged the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan”.Police would also allege the victims were shot by the accused or shot by subordinates acting on his orders and in his presence, Barrett said.Roberts-Smith appeared in a Sydney court via video link on Friday and remained unmoved as he was shown on screen in a green prison tracksuit.His lawyer Slade Howell argued it was unacceptable to keep the soldier behind bars as the case slowly wound through the courts.The prosecution, in turn, argued that the grave nature of the alleged crimes warranted strict bail conditions.Roberts-Smith faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if he is found guilty.Australian war heroThe decorated soldier was heralded as an Australian war hero and was even honoured as the nation’s “father of the year”.But his reputation was called into question in 2018, when a series of news reports linked him to the alleged murder of unarmed Afghan prisoners by Australian troops.