The whistleblower exposing war crimes by the Australian army in Afghanistan has been sentenced to prison

David McBride, a former Australian army lawyer who leaked classified government documents, has been sentenced to over five years in prison.

The 60-year-old lawyer has been convicted by the court of stealing government property and releasing confidential documents that have harmed national security and Australia’s interests.

Mr. McBride handed documents to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in 2017, revealing war crimes by the Australian army in Afghanistan.

Based on these documents, ABC produced a series of reports that caused uproar in Australia and other countries involved in the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

As a result of these reports, the Australian army launched a four-year investigation, which revealed that the country’s special forces unlawfully killed 39 Afghans.

Mr. McBride admitted to the charges of theft and disclosing military secrets, stating that he did so on the basis of conscience.

He, supported by his followers including Stella Assange, the wife of Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, emphasized that he did not commit a wrongdoing but merely exposed wrongdoings.

Mr. McBride was previously released in 2019, and his case sparked controversy in Australia regarding lack of legal protections for whistleblowers and failure to hold errant soldiers accountable.

The Australian mission took place in the Uruzgan province, where the mentioned crimes occurred.