Australian whistleblower David McBride loses appeal over Afghan war crimes leak

Ex-military officer was jailed for leaking classified documents about allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan to the media.

David McBride, a former Australian army officer who leaked classified documents revealing alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, has lost his appeal to reduce his sentence.Three judges of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Court of Appeal on Wednesday unanimously voted to uphold the 61-year-old's jail term of five years and eight months. McBride was sentenced in May 2024 for stealing and distributing classified information on Australian war crimes in Afghanistan to three journalists between 2014 and 2018.The appeal court judges noted in their summary that McBride began taking home copies of hundreds of secret documents after becoming “dissatisfied with what he perceived to be vexatious over-investigation of alleged war crimes by Australian soldiers”.Against his wishes, the information McBride shared became the premise for a 2017 investigative documentary series, The Afghan Files, by ABC News, which detailed alleged atrocities committed by Australian troops during their deployment in Afghanistan.The justices on Wednesday also rejected McBride's argument that, as a military officer, he had sworn an oath to act in the interests of the public.“To the contrary, the oath obliged the appellant (McBride) to discharge his duties ‘according to the law,’” the judges said in a written summary of their ruling.McBride has consistently argued he acted out of duty to release the information. Through his lawyers, he said he thought Australians would be outraged by the Court of Appeal decision.“It is my own conscience and the people of Australia that I answer to. I have kept my oath to the Australian people,” McBride said in a statement via his lawyers.Intention to appealHis legal team said they would appeal to the country's High Court over the ruling, due to the ramifications of the case for whistleblowers in Australia."We believe that only the High Court can properly grapple with the immense public interest and constitutional issues at the heart of this case," his lawyers argued in a statement.They also called for the country's Attorney-General, Michelle Rowland, to pardon McBride. Rowland, who was appointed to her role after the Labor Party was re-elected in early May, declined to comment on the case.The government was considering offering additional support for public sector whistleblowers, her office said.The Human Rights Law Centre told ABC News it was surprised the court hadn't reduced the length of McBride's sentence. "I think that only underscores the ongoing travesty that is his prosecution," HRLC Associate Legal Director Kieran Pender said."David McBride's case and other whistleblower prosecutions in recent years have demonstrated the failure of our laws," he added.McBride can be considered for parole after he has served two years and three months, meaning he must remain behind bars until at least August next year.