Ben Roberts-Smith's bail varied for war memorial event

War veteran Ben Roberts-Smith will have his bail conditions temporarily altered to permit his attendance at an official opening at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on June 23. Mr. Roberts-Smith, who is on bail since mid-April, faces five counts of war crime murder stemming from alleged actions during deployments in Afghanistan in 2009 and 2012.

During a court appearance Tuesday, his lawyers successfully sought variations to his bail, including permission to travel to Canberra. Mr. Roberts-Smith was invited to the event as a Victoria Cross recipient. While prosecutors did not oppose the change, they expressed concerns about the potential for "inadvertent" breaches of a separate bail condition regarding contact with potential Crown witnesses. However, they indicated that adverse action would be unlikely in such a scenario.

Judge Susan Horan approved the variation, stating that the altered conditions would address the Crown's concerns about risks of failing to appear or interfering with witnesses. The court also heard a request for a second variation to allow Mr. Roberts-Smith to attend a military graduation and associated social gathering in Singleton and Newcastle later in the month. Prosecutors did not object to the graduation attendance but raised concerns about the vagueness of the social function plans, describing it as an "uncontrolled social function" with an estimated 100-200 attendees, likely involving alcohol.

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In short, it's an uncontrolled social function