Whistleblower who exposed Australian military war crimes in Afghanistan sentenced
According to the Associated Press report on May 14, the whistleblower who exposed the war crimes of Australian troops in Afghanistan has been sentenced to prison.
According to reports, an Australian judge sentenced a former army lawyer to nearly six years in prison on Tuesday for leaking confidential information to the media to expose Australia's war crimes in Afghanistan.
David McBride, 60, was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison at a court in the Australian capital, Canberra, after he admitted three charges, including stealing and sharing documents classified as confidential with members of the media. At one point he faced the possibility of life in prison.
Judge David Mossop ordered McBride to serve 27 months in prison before being considered for parole.
Human rights advocates believe McBride's conviction and sentence reflect Australia's lack of whistleblower protections.
McBride's attorney, Mark Davis, said he planned to appeal the severity of the sentence.
McBride's documents formed the basis of a 2017 seven-part ABC drama that contained allegations of war crimes, including the 2013 killings of unarmed Afghan men and children by Australian Special Airborne Regiment soldiers.
An Australian military report released in 2020 found evidence that Australian troops illegally killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and civilians. The report recommended criminal investigations into 19 active and retired military personnel.
Daniella Gavshin, director of Australia's Human Rights Watch, said McBride's sentence proved that Australia's whistleblower laws require public interest exemptions.
Gavshin said in a statement: "It is a stain on Australia's reputation that some Australian military personnel have been accused of committing war crimes in Afghanistan, yet the first person convicted in connection with these crimes was a whistleblower, not a The abuser.”
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