Andrew Hastie could testify in murder trial
Shadow defense minister and former SAS captain Andrew Hastie says Australia must recognize “wrongdoings” in Afghanistan as well as respect the rule of law following the arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith.
Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated living soldier, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with five war crimes of murder, allegedly committed during his deployment to Afghanistan.
The BBC’s statement at the time of the arrest is as follows:One of the most important moments in Australian military history”, Roberts-Smith was taken off the plane onto the tarmac at Sydney Airport and taken into custody.
The Victoria Cross recipient, whose legal costs in his unsuccessful libel case against this imprint were covered by billionaire Kerry Stokes, faces a bail hearing on April 17.
Roberts-Smith has always denied the allegations made against her.
Hastie, who served multiple tours in Afghanistan, said he may be called to testify against his former colleague on Thursday. Inside A statement published on the websiteHastie said Roberts-Smith was one of 21 SAS veterans subpoenaed as witnesses in the libel case.
“I gave an affidavit as required by law,” he said. “Mr Roberts-Smith is currently facing criminal charges in relation to this operational role, so it is possible that I may be called as a witness at this hearing.”
Speaking to 2GB radio earlier on Thursday, Hastie warned that political comments should not be allowed to damage upcoming hearings.
“Ben Roberts-Smith is entitled to a presumption of innocence,” he said. “He has the right to a fair trial and that’s why I’m very cautious about commenting, because the last thing we want is for his trial to be biased by political comments.”
Hastie said Tuesday was a “sad and sobering day” for many Australians but the rule of law must prevail to ensure the ex-serviceman gets a fair trial.
In Roberts-Smith’s loss for defamation, the Federal Court found that, on the balance of probabilities, Roberts-Smith was a war criminal.
Hastie said after the ordinance was distributed that it was “hard to avoid the reality” of wrongdoing within the elite regiment. Brereton’s report on war crimes in 2020. “[It] “It was determined that mistakes were made,” he said. “There were some mistakes that were found to be credible… Part of us moving forward as a country is admitting where we did good and right and also where we went wrong.”
Member of Parliament for Western Australia often touted as possible future leader of the CoalitionHe said that although “things never work out” at the “end” of the war, the actions of a few do not define the whole.
“I want to say this [veterans] He said we all have a mission to serve our country, and 99 percent of us do our jobs with honor, and we do so in an incredibly frustrating war.
