Australia whistleblower who exposed war crime allegations loses bid to reduce prison sentence
MELBOURNE: Australian army whistleblower David McBride, who leaked allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan to the media, lost a court bid to have his prison sentence reduced on Wednesday.
The three Australian Capital Territory Court of Appeal judges unanimously rejected the 61-year-old former army lawyer's appeal against the severity of a five years and eight months prison sentence imposed a year ago.
The judges also rejected McBride's argument that as a military officer he had sworn an oath to Queen Elizabeth II and therefore had sworn duty to act in the 'public interest.'
'To the contrary, the oath obligued the appellant (McBride) to discharge his duties 'according to the law,'' the judges said in a written summary of their ruling.
McBride said through his lawyers that 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 the lawyers' statement.
McBride pleaded guilty last year to three charges, including theft and sharing with journalists documents classified as secret. He faced a potential life sentence.
Rights advocates complain that McBride remains the only person to be imprisoned over allegations of war crimes committed by elite Australian special forces troops in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.
A military report released in 2020 recommended 19 current and former soldiers face criminal investigations over 39 unlawful killings in Afghanistan.
Former Special Air Service Regiment soldier Oliver Schulz was charged in March 2023 with murdering an unarmed Afghan in 2012. Schulz pleaded not guilty to the war crime and has yet to stand trial.
Former SAS Cpl. Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most decorated living veteran, lost an appeal two weeks ago against a civil court ruling that he unlawfully killed four unarmed Afghans.
Roberts-Smith said he would appeal his loss in the High Court. He has not been criminally charged.
McBride's lawyers also said they would take their appeal to the Hight Court.
'We believe that only the High Court can properly grapple with the immense public interest and constitutional issues at the heart of this case,' the lawyers' statement said.
'It cannot be a crime to expose a crime. It cannot be illegal to tell the truth,' the statement added.
Whistleblower's lawyers call for a government pardon
The lawyers also called on Attorney General Michelle Rowland, who was appointed after the Labour Party government was re-elected on May 3, to recommend McBride be pardoned.
'It is now time for the attorney general to show leadership. To show Australians that this Labor government will no longer jail whistleblowers,' the lawyers said.
Rowland did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
The documents became the source of a series of Australian Broadcasting Corp. reports in 2017 called the 'Afghan Files.' The reports detailed allegations against Australian soldiers including the unlawful killing of men and children.
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.'
McBride declined to have further dealings with a journalist after the reporter revealed he intended to use the classified information for a story exposing war crime allegations, the judges said.
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Al Arabiya
Australian bouncy castle operator cleared over accident that killed six children
An Australian woman whose bouncy castle was blown into the air by a freak wind event, killing six children, was found not guilty Friday of failing to meet her health and safety duties. In December 2021, a gust of wind lifted the inflatable castle about 10 meters (33 feet) into the air while children were celebrating the end of their year at a primary school in Devonport, northern Tasmania. Six children died and three were seriously injured. Rosemary Gamble, owner of party equipment company Taz-Zorb that operated the bouncy castle, was charged with failing to comply with a workplace health and safety duty. She pleaded not guilty, and on Friday the Devonport Magistrates Court dismissed the charges against her. Magistrate Robert Webster said the bouncy castle was lifted into the air by an 'unprecedented weather system, namely a dust devil.' 'Gamble could have done more or taken further steps; however, given the effects of the unforeseen and unforeseeable dust devil, had she done so, that would sadly have made no difference to the ultimate outcome,' Webster said in his decision. 'In those circumstances I find the charge is not proved. It is therefore dismissed.' Gamble said she accepted how 'deeply and tragically this incident impacted so many people and families.' 'I realize those scars will remain for an extremely long time, likely forever,' she said in a statement to the Australian national broadcaster ABC. 'There are no words to describe how I have felt ever since that tragic incident took so much away from so many people and left nothing but heartbreak and emptiness in its place. I never meant for something like this to happen. And I am just so sorry that it did.' Andrew Dodt, the father of one of the children who died in the incident, said he had been 'broken for a long time.' 'And I think I'm going to be broken for a lot more,' Dodt said in a statement to the ABC.
Asharq Al-Awsat
a day ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
China Out of Contention for World Cup after 1-0 Loss to Indonesia
China was eliminated from 2026 World Cup qualification Thursday after a 1-0 loss to Indonesia in Jakarta. A first-half penalty from Ole Romeny was enough to keep China, whose sole appearance was in 2002, last in Group C with just one game remaining. Indonesia, coached by Patrick Kluivert, took the lead just before the break when Romeny converted from the penalty spot. Elsewhere in the group, a last-minute goal from Aziz Behich gave Australia a 1-0 win over Japan in Perth to put the Socceroos within touching distance of a sixth straight World Cup appearance. Australia can qualify for its sixth successive World Cup later Thursday if Saudi Arabia, next week's final group opponent, fails to win in Bahrain. The already-qualified Japan fielded an experimental XI with only Daichi Kamada and Koki Machida having made more than four international appearances, but still had the majority of possession and chances. Substitute Takefusa Kubo had perhaps the best opportunity with 10 minutes remaining, but the midfielder shot wide of the post from inside the area. In the 90th minute, Riley McGree broke free down the right and pulled back for Behich to curl home to bring Perth Stadium to its feet and give Australia its first win over Japan in 16 years. 'It hasn't sunk in just yet but when the final whistle went it was a great feeling,' Behich said. 'It was a tough game and we had to grind it out. It's been a long campaign and we have worked so hard.' The teams who finish third and fourth in the three groups in this third round of Asian qualifying will advance to a fourth stage to compete for the remaining two Asian places at the World Cup.
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Australian accused in mushroom murders cross-examined by prosecution
An Australian woman accused of using poisonous mushrooms to murder three elderly relatives of her estranged husband was cross-examined by the prosecution on Thursday, denying she had measured a 'fatal dose' on her kitchen scales. Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with the July 2023 murders of her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, along with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband. The prosecution accuses her of knowingly serving the guests lethal death cap mushrooms as part of a Beef Wellington at her home in Leongatha, a town of about 6,000 some 135 km (84 miles) from Melbourne. She denies the charges, which carry a life sentence, with her defence calling the deaths a 'terrible accident.' Under cross-examination on Thursday by the prosecution, Erin Patterson was asked whether a series of photos of mushrooms placed on weighing scales in her kitchen was evidence she had been measuring a 'fatal dose' to serve to her lunch guests. 'I suggest that you were weighing these death cap mushrooms so that you could calculate the weight required for the administration of a fatal dose for one person. Agree or disagree?' barrister Nanette Rogers said. 'Disagree,' Patterson replied. Patterson accepted under cross-examination that she had lied to police and medical professionals following the lunch when she was asked whether she had ever foraged for mushrooms or owned a food dehydrator, which was later found in a waste disposal plant containing traces of death caps. While being examined by her own barrister Colin Mandy, Patterson said earlier on Thursday that she did not intentionally pick death cap mushrooms, or knowingly serve them to her lunch guests. Nor had she pretended to be sick after the lunch to avoid becoming a suspect in the case, she said. The trial has captured public attention across Australia, where such cases are exceedingly rare. Podcasters, journalists and documentary-makers from local and international media have descended on the town of Morwell where the trial is being held, about two hours east of Melbourne. State broadcaster ABC's daily podcast about the proceedings is currently Australia's most popular, while many domestic newspapers have run live blogs on trial developments. Justice Christopher Beale, the judge presiding in the case, told the jury the cross-examination of the accused would probably continue into next week. The prosecution rested its case on Monday after a month of evidence from relatives and medical, forensic and mushroom experts. After the defence rests, the parties will discuss whether the prosecution might seek to reopen its case in light of defence evidence, Beale told the jury. The trial, set to conclude this month, continues.
