Prosecutors choose not to oppose Ben Roberts-Smith’s attendance at War Memorial opening in Canberra
The Victoria Cross awardee asked a judge to give him permission to participate in a ceremony to open the Anzac Hall in Canberra next week. Prosecutors did not oppose the request.
Federal prosecutors told a judge on Tuesday that they did not oppose a request by Victoria Cross awardee Ben Roberts-Smith to attend the opening of a new section of the Australian War Memorial next week and the graduation parade of the son of an SAS colleague killed in Afghanistan.
But a lawyer for the Director of Public Prosecutions said he opposed Mr Roberts-Smith being allowed to attend a social function after the graduation and said the famous ex-soldier needed to be prohibited from any contact with witnesses against him in his trial for five counts of the war crime of murder.
Mr Roberts-Smith stood silently in the back of a crowded court room at the Downing Centre in Sydney on Tuesday morning to determine if his bail conditions will be changed to allow him to attend a ceremony to mark the completion of the new Anzac Hall at the War Memorial in Canberra in a week’s time.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Mr Roberts-Smith received an invitation as one of the four Australian holders of the Victoria Cross still alive. His uniform, medals and equipment from the SAS are housed in the Hall of Valour, which is a separate part of the War Memorial.
He also wants to attend a “march out” parade from infantry school for Henry Diddams, the son of the late SAS sergeant Blaine Diddams, who was killed in Afghanistan during a fight with the Taliban in 2012. The event will be held at the Singleton Military Area north of Sydney.
‘Leave him alone’
Under his bail conditions, Mr Roberts-Smith is not allowed to travel outside of Queensland except for legal or medical reasons, must live at an address registered with the court in South-East Queensland and report to a police station in NSW three times a week.
His lawyers asked the court for permission for Mr Roberts-Smith to move to Brisbane to be closer to his twin teenage daughters. The prosecution lawyer did not oppose the change, but said Mr Roberts-Smith should not be allowed to switch his reporting police station to Brisbane from NSW, which could save him two hours drive.
After hearing a summary of the request from the prosecution lawyer, Judge Susan Horan postponed the rest of the hearing until 2pm. “This is a really busy list today,” she said. “It is not a good day for it.”
As Mr Roberts-Smith left court, surrounded by camera crews, someone called out: “Leave him alone.”
Mr Roberts-Smith is a former executive at Seven West Media, which is owned by Southern Cross Austereo and publishes The Nightly. He has said he intends to plead not guilty. The date for his trial has not been set but his lawyers expect it to be years away.
