A soldier, not Oliver Jordan Schulz, in Afghanistan. Photo: Supplied.
A former soldier charged with the alleged war crime murder of a non-combatant has been granted bail under several strict conditions, including paying $200,000 security.
It is alleged Oliver Jordan Schulz murdered an Afghan man named Dad Mohammad in Deh Jawz, Afghanistan, while he was deployed to the country with the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
He allegedly killed Mr Mohammad on 28 May, 2012, when the latter was not taking an active part in the war.
The 41-year-old was formally charged with war crime – murder when he first appeared in the Queanbeyan Local Court last week.
He launched a bail application in the Sydney Downing Centre on Monday (28 March), in which About Regional understands his lawyers argued that he should be granted bail partly because he was vulnerable to Islamic extremists while in custody.
“Wherever this man is going to be held in the prison, he is likely to have to mix with people in prison who sympathise with the Taliban or with other Islamic extremist groups,” his lawyer Philip Boulten SC argued, according to the ABC.
Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson granted bail when she handed down her decision on Tuesday, requiring him to follow numerous conditions, including daily reporting to a police station, surrendering his passport, and staying at home under a night-time curfew.
Also, he is not allowed to contact any personnel who deployed to Afghanistan during a rotation between February and July 2012, other than through a legal representative.
While Magistrate Atkinson made an interim suppression order on his name on Monday, she ultimately lifted it, allowing his name to be reported. However, she installed a suppression order on publishing where he lives.
The matter is back in court on 16 May.
Court documents have revealed it is alleged Mr Schulz knew or was reckless to the factual circumstances establishing that Mr Mohammad was not taking an active part in the hostilities when he allegedly killed him.
It is the first time a war crime charge of murder has been laid against a serving or former ADF member under Australian law.
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