Afghanistan Times
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Kabul: The Supreme Court of Australia has sentenced former military lawyer David McBride to five years and eight months in prison without parole for more than two years and three months.
McBride, known as the country’s “first whistleblower” of war crimes, faced five charges, pleading guilty to three offenses, including stealing information and passing it on to journalists. His leaked documents formed the basis of the Afghan Files revelations, exposing war crimes committed by Australian special forces personnel in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, including the killing of 39 Afghans. While McBride argued a public interest element in his actions, it was rejected by the trial judge, leading to his guilty plea last November.
The sentence has drawn criticism from human rights and press freedom advocates, who argue that imprisoning a whistleblower undermines democracy and chills potential truth-tellers. They emphasize the importance of protecting whistleblowers and journalists, especially in light of Australia’s declining press freedom ranking.
