Whistleblower and former Australian military lawyer, David McBride, today pled guilty on charges of leaking secret military information, after key aspects of his defence were thrown out of the ACT Supreme Court in Canberra, Ngunnawal land.
McBride’s defence relied on arguing that his military oath to the Queen to serve the interests of the nation and its people justified his passing on classified documents about the over-investigation of Australian combat incidents to three journalists. Ultimately this information led to an ABC report on alleged Australian war crimes in Afganistan. Instead, the Supreme Court today ruled that McBride’s over-riding duty was to follow army orders, rather than act in the interests of the public.
In 2020, the conclusion of the Brereton inquiry into war crimes committed by the ADF, found that there was credible evidence that 39 Afghan civilians had indeed been unlawfully killed by Australian Special Forces.
A group of supporters at today's court hearing demanded that the charges against McBride be dropped and that the legal protections for whistleblowers in Australia be strengthened.
David McBride will be sentenced early next year.
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