Corrective Services NSW staff tried to sneak ex-soldier out back exit of prison
NSW Corrective Services staff devised a plan to sneak accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith out of a Sydney prison’s rear exit to avoid a pending media pack after he was released on bail, according to documents obtained under freedom of information laws.
The NSW Department of Corrections rated the former Special Air Service soldier as the most prominent high-profile protection prisoner they had ever encountered, triggering a series of rare interventions for Roberts-Smith and his partner, including a personal escort, use of a rear exit and the intervention of one of his handlers to ensure he got his daily exercise.
Documents obtained by this imprint using freedom of information laws reveal that Metropolitan Detention and Reception Center governor Patrick Aboud personally escorted Roberts-Smith from Silverwater Correctional Center on April 17 and later joined a convoy of cars trying to prevent the media from photographing the disgraced former soldier.
Officers had initially planned to escort Roberts-Smith and her partner, Sarah Matulin, to the back door of the facility before Aboud directed them to travel in convoy along a public road. In a briefing note sent four days after Roberts-Smith was granted bail, Aboud said senior staff carried out a “dynamic operational risk assessment” that day to determine the “safest and most appropriate method of evacuation”.
But internal department communications show that Aboud, who personally escorted Roberts-Smith to his cell after he was detained for five war crimes (murder for the alleged killing of unarmed Afghan detainees), approved a plan that allowed the former Special Air Service corporal to leave via a rear exit 24 hours before he was to be released on bail.
“The media will not be told publicly that he left via the rear entrance,” a senior member of Corrective Services NSW’s media unit wrote in an email to Aboud on April 16.
Roberts-Smith’s release from prison sparked chaotic scenes as NSW Corrections officers tried to stop media outlets from photographing the 47-year-old. As Roberts-Smith’s vehicle was traveling along a public road bordering the prison, it turned into a black driveway exiting Silverwater behind it. Herald’s The vehicle is moving, blocking it.
A review of the officers’ actions found that two female Security Operations Group officers “temporarily exited their vehicle to block access to the media and prevent interaction with the released prisoner.” Aboud was in one of several vehicles that accompanied Roberts-Smith out of prison and had personally seen him get into the Audi driven by Matulin.
“The decision taken was reasonable, proportionate, defensible and appropriate to the circumstances. It enabled the safe and orderly management of a uniquely high-risk evacuation event, while minimizing foreseeable risks to staff, individuals, media representatives and the public,” Aboud said in his April 21 briefing note.
None of the police officers, who stated in their statements within the scope of the investigation that they intervened because they feared Roberts-Smith’s safety, activated their body-worn cameras.
“I would like to remind you that our authority to deal with such situations (sic) on public roads is limited. No further action is required,” the Security Operations Group general manager wrote to officers on April 20.
Corrective Services NSW claimed Roberts-Smith was not given preferential treatment when being escorted out the back exit. But the documents reveal the department’s struggle to contain the fallout as pressure for his release mounts.
The documents provide an insight into Roberts-Smith’s time at Silverwater and reveal the strict policy implemented to manage him in custody.
Three days after Australian Federal Police officers arrested Roberts-Smith at Sydney Airport, the prison’s security director emailed colleagues: “Emotions are high both internally and externally, but professionalism must remain our standard. He, like other inmates, should be handled with respect and without undue attention.”
More to come
Eryk Bagshaw is an investigative reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. He was previously a North Asia correspondent. Reach him securely on Signal @bagshawe.01Connect with: X or email.
