Army Whistleblower Jailed for Exposing Australian War Crimes in Afghanistan

In a courtroom in Canberra, McBride, aged 60, received a sentence of five years and eight months after pleading guilty to three charges, including theft and sharing secret documents with journalists, according to AP news.

This judgment brings to light the lack of whistleblower protections in Australia, with McBride facing a possible life sentence.

Justice David Mossop stipulated that McBride must serve 27 months before being eligible for parole, prompting concerns from rights advocates about the fairness of the sentence.

Human Rights Watch's Australia director, Daniela Gavshon, criticized the conviction, emphasizing the need for whistleblower exemptions in the public interest. Gavshon expressed dismay, stating, "It is a stain on Australia’s reputation that some of its soldiers have been accused of war crimes in Afghanistan, and yet the first person convicted in relation to these crimes is a whistleblower not the abusers."

McBride's attorney, Mark Davis, announced plans to appeal against the severity of the sentence, indicating dissatisfaction with the outcome.

The leaked documents formed the basis of a 2017 investigative series by the Australian Broadcasting Corp., detailing allegations of war crimes, including the killing of unarmed Afghan men and children by Australian Special Air Service Regiment soldiers in 2013.

Police raided the ABC’s Sydney headquarters in 2019 in search of evidence of a leak, but decided against charging the two reporters responsible for the investigation.

A military report released in 2020 provided evidence of unlawful killings by Australian troops in Afghanistan, leading to recommendations for criminal investigations against 19 current and former soldiers.

Collaborating with the Office of the Special Investigator established in 2021, police are building cases against elite SAS and Commando Regiments troops who served in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016. Former SAS trooper Oliver Schulz became the first veteran charged with a war crime last year, accused of fatally shooting a noncombatant in Uruzgan province in 2012.

Additionally, Australia's most decorated living war veteran, Ben Roberts-Smith, faced civil court findings last year implicating him in the unlawful killing of four Afghans, though he has yet to face criminal charges.