Ben Roberts-Smith will remain in jail for at least a week after his legal representatives declined to apply for bail on Wednesday, a day after Australia’s most decorated soldier was charged with war crimes.
His case will return for a bail review hearing at Downing Centre local court in Sydney on 17 April.
The former SAS soldier and Victoria Cross recipient was expected to make his first court appearance on Wednesday morning after being charged with five counts of war crime – murder in relation to alleged offences in Afghanistan between April 2009 and October 2012.
But Roberts-Smith, who spent Tuesday night in custody at Sydney’s Silverwater correctional centre after his arrest at Sydney airport that morning, did not appear at the virtual bail hearing in the New South Wales local court.
Roberts-Smith’s legal representative, Jordan Portokalli, said no application for bail would be made on Wednesday, asking for the matter to be listed for mention at the Downing Centre local court in Sydney “as soon as possible”.
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailHe asked for the judge, Lucas Swan, to consider listing the matter for the same day but acknowledged this might be a “pipe dream”.
The judge agreed, saying he did not have access to the court’s diary, and ordered that the matter be listed for a brief status mention at Downing Centre on 4 June, in eight weeks’ time.
The hearing on 17 April was listed later on Wednesday. Roberts-Smith, who will remain in custody before then, will appear via video link.
Roberts-Smith has always denied any wrongdoing.
