Australia - May 2024

On 14 May, former Australian army lawyer David McBride was sentenced to 5 years and 8 months in prison for leaking classified documents to journalists in 2017. The move follows a pre-trial ruling in November 2023 that blocked McBride’s use of a defence that his actions were in the public interest. The documents exposed details of war crimes committed by special forces in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2013. The documents informed the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s seven-part series ‘The Afghan Files,’ after which a subsequent investigation led by the Australian Defence Force found credible evidence that members of the Australian Special Air Service had committed war crimes between 2005-2013. Media experts have expressed serious concern that the case undermines press freedom in the interest of public journalism. Legal experts argue that McBride’s sentencing underscores the urgent need for whistleblower protection reform, with a spokesperson from Human Rights Law Centre stating that ‘this is a dark day for Australian democracy. The imprisonment of a whistleblower will have a grave chilling effect on potential truth-tellers.’ Transparency International has urged the government to enact comprehensive law reform and establish a whistleblower protection authority. McBride’s lawyers have said they would appeal the conviction.

Sources: Transparency International Australia, International Federation of Journalists, CNN, ABC News