Former US Marine pilot arrested in Australia worked with Chinese hacker unknowingly, lawyer says
CNNMAY 16 2024
A former Australian military lawyer was on Monday sentenced to five years and eight months in prison after sharing classified documents containing allegations of war crimes with journalists.
David McBride, 60, admitted giving the documents to reporters from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), stating that he felt he had a moral duty to speak up and share the information with the public.
The documents went on to form the basis of a series of reports, published by ABC in 2017, called "the Afghan Files." They detailed instances where Australia’s elite special forces in Afghanistan were accused of committing multiple war crimes — including the unlawful killing of a number of unarmed civilians and children.
McBride stole over 200 classified documents from the Australian military and grossly breached his duties by sharing these documents with journalists. Such actions threaten Australia's national security and put the lives of soldiers who serve the country at risk. A prison sentence was necessitated because it's important to deter others from taking the same steps.
What does it say about a society that punishes a whistleblower who revealed war crimes while those who perpetrated the crimes are yet to face justice? This is a dark day for democracy in Australia. Whistleblowing rules need to be changed so this sort of thing doesn't happen again — otherwise, wrongdoing will continue to be treated with impunity.