Ben Roberts-Smith’s bail varied so alleged war criminal can attend Australian War Memorial opening

Former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has successfully varied his bail to attend the opening of the Anzac Hall at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. However he has not been allowed to go to a military graduation parade and afterparty north of Sydney due to concerns he might interact with another alleged war criminal, Oliver Schulz, while there. Roberts-Smith, 47, was arrested in April and charged with murdering or ordering the murders of five unarmed detainees while deployed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. In a statement in April, Roberts-Smith said he categorically denied all allegations against him and that he had “always acted within my values, within my training and within the rules of engagement”. He appeared before Sydney’s Downing Centre local court on Tuesday, when his lawyers applied to vary his bail. Judge Susan Horan permitted the former SAS soldier to visit the War Memorial for the opening of the Anzac Hall and Atrium on 23 June but barred him from discussing the criminal cases against himself or Schulz. Roberts-Smith had been invited along with all other living Victoria Cross recipients, the judge was told. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email Outside court, he told reporters it was “absolutely” appropriate he attend the opening as he had received the prestigious military award. …