Sydney: A magistrate decided on Tuesday to grant bail to a former elite soldier who had been charged with murder for allegedly killing an unarmed man in Afghanistan because he would be in danger from radical Muslims if he remained behind bars.

Since his arrest for a war crime of murder last week in a rural area of New South Wales, Oliver Schulz, 41, had been in custody.

In Sydney's Downing Center Local Court on Monday, his attorney Phillip Boulten submitted a bail application on his client's behalf. He claimed the former Special Air Service Regiment trooper was gravely endangered by Muslim extremists inside the prison system and needed to be kept apart from other prisoners.

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Boulten said, "Wherever this man is going to be held in prison, he is likely to have to mix with people in prison who sympathise with the Taliban or with other Islamic extremist groups."

Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson agreed that the risks he would face while incarcerated were too high and granted the request. In relation to what was alleged to be the accused's behaviour as an Australian Defense Force member as well as on the day the incident allegedly occurred, Atkinson told the court, "It's possible to infer that there may be some people being held there who may take an adverse position."

Schulz had been detained in a maximum-security facility in Goulburn, which is located 200 kilometres from Sydney. The majority of the worst convicted terrorists in New South Wales are detained at Goulburn.

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The prosecution's case will include helmet camera footage that was recorded in Afghanistan's Uruzgan Province in 2012 and broadcast by Australian Broadcasting Corp. in 2020.

According to the video, Schulz is seen shooting Dad Mohammad, a local, three times as he is allegedly lying on his back in a wheat pitch with his hands and knees raised. Later, he was shot in the head, according to his father's complaint to the Australian Defense Force.

Because of the alleged murder, Atkinson claimed that Schulz would be in a "very difficult, if not dangerous environment" while in custody and that correctional staff would not be able to watch over him around-the-clock.

Given the unique security risks to his person, I believe the accused's situation may be worse than that of other people who are being held on remand, she said.

Due to the national security issues surrounding the case, Atkinson said Schulz would have trouble giving advice to his attorneys and accessing private information under strict restrictions if he were forced to do so behind bars.
To shield Schulz's family from harm, the court has suppressed the names of the town and area where he resides.

Then-Defense Minister Linda Reynolds forwarded the allegation to the Australian Federal Police after footage of the Afghanistan shooting was broadcast on a national scale.

In 2020, Schulz was placed on administrative leave before being medically released from the Australian Defense Force. Schulz is the first former or current member of the Australian Defense Force to be charged with a war crime of murder under domestic law. Schulz received the Commendation for Gallantry for his service in Afghanistan.

He is one of 19 current and former Australian special forces soldiers who could face charges for illegal behaviour in Afghanistan, according to a war crimes investigation. If found guilty, he could receive a life sentence in prison.

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There is evidence that Australian troops killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers, and civilians without authorization, according to a military report published in 2020 after a four-year investigation.

During the 20 years leading up to the withdrawal in 2021, more than 39,000 Australian military personnel deployed to Afghanistan; 41 of them died there.