The wife of Christian Porter’s high-flying criminal defense attorney is set to represent the SAS soldier accused of shooting an unarmed Afghan villager
- Karen Espiner defends Oliver Schulz in war crimes trial
- SAS veteran charged with murder of Afghan villager
- Espiner recently married former AG Christian Porter
Senior criminal defense attorney Karen Espiner will defend an accused war criminal who allegedly shot and killed an unarmed Afghan villager.
The glamorous legal eagle, who married former Byron Bay Attorney General Christian Porter in February, appeared via video link before Oliver Schulz at Queanbeyan’s local court on Monday.
The decorated SAS veteran, 41, faces life imprisonment for allegedly shooting daddy Mohammad in a wheat field in southern Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province in May 2012.
Mr Schulz has not applied for bail and remains in police custody after being arrested Monday morning at an address in Goulburn in the NSW Southern Highlands.
Footage of the alleged shooting was broadcast in 2020 by ABC’s Four Corners program.
Christian Porter (left) is seen with Karen Espiner in February 2022 when the pair were first photographed together
Oliver Schulz (pictured) – who received the commendation for gallantry for his service in Afghanistan – is expected to be the first member of the Australian Defense Force to be charged with a war crime under Australian law
Schulz – who received the commendation for gallantry for his service in Afghanistan – is now the first member of the Australian Defense Force to be charged with a war crime under Australian law.
The Office of the Special Investigator – believed to consist of homicide detectives and an intelligence officer – was created in 2021 to investigate alleged war crimes.
It followed an investigation by the Inspector General of the Australian Defense Forces inquiry headed by Paul Brereton, an Army Reserve Major General and Justice of the Supreme Court of NSW.
“A joint investigation between the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) and the AFP today led to the arrest of a man from New South Wales,” the AFP confirmed in a statement.
“It is expected that he will be charged with one count of war crime—murder under subsection 268.70(1) Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).
Detectives arrested the man, 41, this morning in NSW regional and he is expected to appear in NSW local court later today [Monday].
“It is alleged that he killed an Afghan man when he was deployed to Afghanistan with the Australian Defense Force.
“The maximum penalty for a war crime-murder crime is life imprisonment.”
It is Mr Porter’s third marriage and the wedding comes just months after the couple confirmed their engagement in October 2022.
The statement added: ‘The OSI and AFP are working together to investigate allegations of violations of the laws of armed conflict by Australian Defense Force personnel in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.
“As the case goes to court and the investigation is ongoing, no further comment will be made.”
British-born Ms Espiner is regarded as an elite lawyer and has been named Criminal Law Partner of the Year at the 2020 Lawyers Weekly Awards.
Much of her practice involves representing clients charged with “highly serious criminal matters, including murder, sex crimes, drug crimes, serious assault and corporate crimes,” according to the Younes + Espiner Lawyers website.
She also acts in complicated local litigation for clients whose personal and professional reputations are at risk.