In brief:
- Alleged war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith has spoken for the first time since his 7 April arrest.
- Roberts-Smith is charged with murdering five unarmed detainees while deployed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.
Alleged war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith has vowed to fight all charges against him and says he will use the opportunity to "finally clear my name", while criticising the manner of his arrest as an "unnecessary spectacle".
The 47-year-old former SAS soldier was arrested on 7 April and charged with murdering five unarmed detainees while deployed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.
After nine nights in custody, he successfully applied for bail at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court and left Silverwater prison on Friday evening.
In his first public comments since his arrest, the Victoria Cross recipient said he and his family had been "subjected to a campaign to convince Australians that I'd acted improperly in my service in Afghanistan".
"As I've always maintained, I categorically deny all of these allegations," he told reporters on the Gold Coast.
"While I would have preferred these charges not be brought, I will be taking this opportunity to finally clear my name."
After his release from jail on Friday, Roberts-Smith travelled back to Queensland.
The charges Roberts-Smith faces are related to alleged unlawful killings of civilians in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province.
He is accused of directly murdering two Afghans and aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring the murder of three more.
Earlier this month, SBS News spoke with the family of two Afghan men allegedly murdered by Roberts-Smith, or on his orders. The two men were killed during a raid by Australian special forces on a compound known as Whiskey 108 in Uruzgan Province in 2009.
Roberts-Smith is alleged to have machine-gunned in the back one man named Ahmadullah, who had a prosthetic leg, while his father was allegedly executed on the Victoria Cross recipient's orders.
The brother of one alleged victim told SBS News he was relieved the former soldier will face justice over their deaths.
Roberts-Smith said he was proud of the soldiers who served alongside him and that "their service to sacrifice should never be forgotten".
He said he was also proud of his service in Afghanistan.
"While I was there, I always acted within my values, within my training and within the rules of engagement," he said.
He also criticised being subjected to what described as a "sensational arrest", as he made a plea to the media for privacy.
"I understand this is an unprecedented case, and the public interest is huge, and the media has a job to do, which they should be allowed to do," he said.
"I would ask that the media please allow my family their privacy at this time, particularly my children, who have already unfortunately suffered through a deliberate, sensational arrest that was made last week, an unnecessary spectacle.
"I understand this journey will be on. I understand this journey will be difficult, but I can promise everybody that I have never run from the fight in my life."
Politicians including former Nationals leader David Littleproud were among those who criticised the manner of Roberts-Smith's arrest, saying it was a "disgrace" that he was taken into custody in "such a public manner".
Littleproud also criticised footage of the arrest being shared with the media by the Australian Federal Police.
War crime allegations against Roberts-Smith were first reported by the now Nine-owned Fairfax Media in 2018.
The Victoria Cross recipient filed a defamation lawsuit against the company, which was unsuccessful, with the judge determining that the accusations were, on the balance of probabilities, true.
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