Senate Estimates committee told Attorney-General approved Ben Roberts-Smith war crimes prosecution faster than ISIS brides
Australia’s Attorney General signed off on the prosecution of war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith faster than the approval process required to prosecute ISIS brides returning to Australia and accused of crimes against humanity, the Senate Estimates Committee has been told.
It took several weeks for Attorney-General Michelle Rowland to approve the prosecution of three Australian women allegedly linked to ISIS when they returned to Australia from Syria last year, it was revealed at the Senate Estimates Committee.
Earlier this month, two of the women were charged with crimes against humanity and another with terrorism offences.
The woman was part of a group of Australian citizens, four women and nine children, who flew from Doha to Sydney and Melbourne after leaving a refugee camp in north-east Syria.
In response to questioning from Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash, officials said Ms Rowland’s approval took 25 days.
But Minister Don Farrell’s offer to the committee of a correction on how long it would take for Ms Rowland to approve the investigation into Australian women returning from Syria contradicted information previously provided to Senator Michaelia Cash.
“The question has been asked previously about the timeline for when the Attorney-General will give approval to prosecute Australians returning from Syria,” Mr Farrell said.
“I can confirm that the briefing on authorization to prosecute was provided by the Attorney General’s Office to the Attorney General on 11 December 2025 and the Attorney General gave his approval on 15 December 2025.”
But when questioned by Senator Cash weeks ago on November 20, he was unable to clarify what had happened.
“So November 20, what happened there?” Mrs. Cash asked.
“This is very flimsy because I was given a date from November 20th to December 15th.”
Mr Farrell responded: “Well, I think I’m clarifying those dates, but if that’s not the case I’ll advise you.”
It took two days for Ms Rowlands to approve the prosecution of Ben Roberts-Smith.
Kawsar Ahmad, also known as Kawsar Abbas, was charged with four crimes against humanity, including enslavement, possession of slaves, use of slaves and engaging in the slave trade, after landing in Melbourne.
Zeinab Ahmad, also known as Zeinab Ahmed, is accused of two crimes: enslavement and slave use.
According to court documents, an arrest warrant was issued by AFP on February 17 for the couple on the grounds that they had “returned from an extended period abroad”.
A third woman, Janai Safar, faces charges of entering or remaining in a restricted area and membership of a terrorist group after her arrest in Sydney.
Mr Roberts-Smith was charged with alleged war crimes after failing to sue Nine Newspapers for libel in the Federal Court over a series of stories in which he was accused of participating in unlawful killings while serving in Afghanistan.
The Victoria Cross and Medal of Gallantry winner has consistently denied the allegations and took his fight all the way to the Supreme Court, which refused to grant special leave to appeal.
He was arrested by the Australian Federal Police when he arrived in Sydney with his family on a flight from Brisbane last month.
He was charged with five war crimes, including murder, and stated that he would fight the charges.
He is alleged to have been involved in five murders between 2009 and 2012 while he was serving in Afghanistan.
