Australian Whistleblower Sentenced to Prison for Exposing War Crimes in Afghanistan

Former Australian army lawyer David McBride has been sentenced to five years and eight months in prison for exposing war crimes in Afghanistan.

McBride was convicted for sharing secret military documents with journalists, which detailed the war crimes committed by Australia’s special forces in Afghanistan.

The Australian government stated, “The documents that McBride disclosed endanger the security and defense of Australia.”

A four-year investigation, known as the Brereton Report, found in 2020 that Australian special forces allegedly killed 39 unarmed civilian prisoners in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.

Following the disclosure of these war crimes, the Australian army has faced widespread criticism.