Ex-SAS soldier granted bail over fears of Taliban payback
An ex-SAS soldier charged over the allegedly unlawful killing of a civilian in Afghanistan has received bail because of the danger posed by the Taliban and extremist Islamic inmates.
An ex-SAS soldier has been granted bail by a Sydney magistrate.. (Photo: Australian Defence Force)
On Tuesday, Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson granted a release application by the man, who cannot be legally named, agreeing with his counsel that the risks posed to him while behind bars were too great.
“It’s possible to infer that there may be some people being held there who may take an adverse position in relation to what was said to be the accused’s behaviour both as a member of the (Australian Defence Force) and also on the day the incident allegedly occurred,” she told Downing Centre Local Court.
The man was arrested on March 20 charged with a war crime charge of murder for an alleged killing that took place while he was deployed in Afghanistan.
Footage from a helmet cam first shown by ABC’s Four Corners in March 2020 appears to show the soldier gunning down a 25 or 26-year-old man in a wheat field in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan Province in 2012.
The soldier fired three shots at Dad Mohammad who was on his back with his hands and knees raised. His father later made a complaint to the ADF, alleging his son had been shot in the head.
Due to this allegation, the former soldier would be in a “very difficult if not dangerous environment” and correctional facility staff could not be there to watch him 24 hours a day, Atkinson said.
“I am of the view that the position the accused finds himself in could be worse than other persons who are on remand given the particular security risks to his person,” she said.
The man would also have difficulties giving advice to his lawyers and accessing confidential material under strict conditions due to national security concerns if he was forced to do so behind bars, Atkinson said.
A permanent suppression order over the soldier’s name and the locality he regularly lives in NSW has also been sought to protect his family from Islamic terrorist threats.
The magistrate has yet to rule on this application.
After the Four Corners’ report, then-defence minister Linda Reynolds referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police.
The soldier was suspended from duty and later terminated from the ADF on medical grounds. As part of the AFP investigation, officers searched his home in May 2022.
This is the first time a serving or former ADF member has faced a war crime charge of murder under domestic law.
