Latest news with #AustralianCapitalTerritoryCourtofAppeal
28-05-2025
- Politics
Australia whistleblower who exposed war crime allegations loses bid to reduce prison sentence
MELBOURNE, Australia -- 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 a sworn duty to act in the 'public interest.' '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 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. The lawyers also called on Attorney General Michelle Rowland, who was appointed after the Labor 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's office declined to comment on McBride's case. Attorneys general usually do not consider pardons in cases where appeal options remain available. The government was considering additional support for public sector whistleblowers, Rowland's office said. The documents provided by McBride 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.
Arab Times
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab Times
Australian whistleblower who exposed war crime allegations loses bid to reduce jail sentence
MELBOURNE, Australia, May 28, (AP): 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 a sworn duty to act in the "public interest.' "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 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.
DW
28-05-2025
- Politics
- DW
Australian whistleblower loses appeal to reduce prison term – DW – 05/28/2025
Former military lawyer David McBride, who leaked documents of alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan, had appealed to reduce the severity of his sentence. Australian whistleblower David McBride, who leaked classified documents revealing allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan to the media, lost his appeal to reduce his prison term on Wednesday. The Australian Capital Territory Court of Appeal rejected McBride's appeal to reduce the severity of a five-year and eight-month prison sentence imposed a year ago. What did McBride's team say about the verdict? McBride, who is a former military lawyer, said through his lawyers that Australians would be outraged by the Court of Appeal decision. His lawyers said that they will challenge the decision in the High 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. What was McBride's appeal? Besides appealing for a reduction in his prison sentence, his appeal also focused on arguing that he leaked the documents in line with his duty to act in the public interest. "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 wanted to argue that the duty came from the oath he swore to late Queen Elizabeth II when he joined the military. Last year, McBride pleaded guilty to three charges, including theft and handing out documents classified as secret to the media. He has been in Canberra's prison since October last year. His appeal was heard in March. Rights groups find court's decision unfair Rights advocates have criticized the prosecution, saying 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. How has Afghanistan reacted to Australia's war crimes report? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) expressed its surprise over court's dismissal of McBride's appeal to reduce his sentence. "That's a very long sentence, particularly compared to comparable cases, so I was surprised as to the court's failure to accept the sentencing appeal," HRLC associate legal director Kieran Pender was cited by Australia's ABC public broadcaster as saying. "I think that only underscores the ongoing travesty that is his prosecution," he declared. Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
Irish Examiner
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Whistleblower who exposed war crime allegations loses bid to reduce prison time
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 Australian Capital Territory Court of Appeal rejected the 61-year-old former army lawyer's appeal against the severity of a five-year and eight-month prison sentence imposed a year ago. Mr McBride said through his lawyers that Australians would be outraged by the Court of Appeal decision. Mr McBride had argued that he leaked the documents out of a sworn duty to act in the public interest. 'It is my own conscience and the people of Australia that I answer to. I have kept my oath to the Australian people,' Mr McBride said in the lawyers' statement. Mr McBride's lawyers said they would take their appeal to the High Court (AP/Rod McGuirk) Mr 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 Mr 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 (SAS) Regiment soldier Oliver Schulz was charged in March 2023 with murdering an unarmed Afghan in 2012. Mr Schulz pleaded not guilty to the war crime and has yet to stand trial. Former SAS Corporal 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. Mr Roberts-Smith said he would appeal his loss in the High Court. He has not been criminally charged. Mr McBride's lawyers also said they would take their appeal to the High 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. The lawyers also called on attorney general Michelle Rowland, who was appointed after the Labor Party government was re-elected on May 3, to recommend Mr 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. Ms Rowland did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. The documents became the source of a series of Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports in 2017 called the Afghan Files. The reports detailed allegations against Australian soldiers, including the unlawful killing of men and children. Mr McBride sought to fight the charges, but the court would not allow his defence that he had had a sworn duty as a military officer to act in the public interest. The Court of Appeal will publish reasons for its decision at a later date. Mr 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.
Toronto Star
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Australia whistleblower who exposed war crime allegations loses bid to reduce prison sentence
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — 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 Australian Capital Territory Court of Appeal 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.
