An award-winning journalist has been barred from a courtroom where claims an SAS trooper murdered an Afghan man are being pressed.
Special Air Service Regiment trooper Oliver Jordan Schulz is facing a possible war crime trial after footage emerged of him firing three shots at Dad Mohammad during a mission in May 2012.
Mr Mohammad was lying on his back in a wheat field in Dehjawze when he was killed.
Schulz denies the charge.
But at a committal hearing at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Friday, photojournalist Andrew Quilty was ordered out of the courtroom by the presiding magistrate.
Quilty, who lived in Afghanistan for almost a decade and who has extensively covered the nation's conflict, is listed as a prosecution witness in Schulz's matter.
Both prosecution and defence lawyers advised Quilty on Thursday he should not be present in court due to his status as a witness, but neither had the power to compel him to leave.
Defence barrister Phillip Boulton SC said Quilty was a crown witness who played a role in the initial complaint made about Schulz.
He said it was "most inappropriate" for the journalist to be sitting in court for the committal hearing.
Prosecutor Sean Flood SC said he had advised Quilty against staying but "he's decided to stay".
The photojournalist is covering Schulz's case for The Monthly.
After considering the matter overnight, Magistrate Greg Grogin on Friday barred all witnesses in the matter from the court.
He later made an exception for investigating officers.
Schulz, 43, has been accused of unlawfully killing a local man as he lay on his back in a wheat field.
A number of military witnesses have been compelled to testify at the committal hearing to see what evidence they will likely give if the matter proceeds to trial.
One witness who was a signal operator at the time was earlier asked about "throwdowns" - a practice where radios, guns or other incriminating evidence is planted on a body before it is photographed to make it seem like a legitimate kill.
Military reports viewed by AAP claim that Mr Mohammad was seen with a Taliban radio.
However, an assessment done by one of Schulz's superior officers claimed Mr Mohammad had been seen "attempting to evade" the troop through dense bush that ran along an aqueduct.
Mr Quilty was based in Afghanistan between 2013 and 2021, returning to Australia to write a book after the Taliban reclaimed Kabul.
He has won many awards for his coverage of the war including nine Walkleys, among them the 2016 Gold Walkley for images taken after a hospital was destroyed by an American air strike, killing 42 people.
Schulz's hearing continues.
