Australian soldiers have told prosecutors they executed unarmed civilians at the orders of Ben Roberts-Smith or in complicity with him, according to a statement of facts tendered to the New South Wales local court. Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient and once one of Australia's most decorated soldiers, faces five charges of the war crime of murder, allegedly committed while he served in the Australian SAS in Afghanistan.
Arrested and remanded in custody last week, Roberts-Smith was granted bail under strict conditions on Friday ahead of what is likely to be a marathon trial, not expected to go before a jury for a number of years. He has not entered a plea to the charges but has consistently denied any wrongdoing during his military service. Each charge of the war crime of murder carries a potential life sentence in prison.
Under the heading 'indemnified witnesses', the statement of facts states that the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions has provided an undertaking to three soldier witnesses relevant to the current prosecution. 'Each of these witnesses has admitted their personal involvement in executing one or more detainees at the direction of, or with the complicity of, Ben Roberts-Smith,' the document says. 'In each instance, Ben Roberts-Smith was their military superior.'
The statement of facts outlines 'common themes' attached to each murder. Each victim was unarmed and present in a location where Roberts-Smith could reasonably have suspected insurgents to be located. Each offence was committed in a situation where there was no active engagement with enemy forces and the Australian Defence Force was in control of the environment. Evidence was planted or falsely associated with each deceased to enhance reporting that the killings were within the lawful rules of engagement. Each deceased was handcuffed, detained for a period, and questioned prior to their execution.
Charges one and two relate to two alleged murders committed at the village of Kakarak in southern Afghanistan on 12 April 2009. Two men, a father and son named Mohammad Essa and Ahmadullah, were found hiding in a tunnel. The facts allege that Roberts-Smith shot Ahmadullah multiple times with a belt-fed machine gun, then ordered a fellow soldier to shoot Mohammad Essa, saying 'Shoot that cunt'. The soldier, referred to as 'the rookie', complied. The third charge relates to an incident on 11 September 2012, during a search for a rogue Afghan National Army soldier.
