A whistleblower who helped expose allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan has been sentenced to five years and eight months in prison.
David McBride pleaded guilty on the eve of his trial last year to stealing and sharing military secrets after a legal ruling overturned his defense.
McBride, a former military attorney, said he had a moral responsibility to speak out.
A landmark investigation later uncovered evidence that Australian troops illegally killed 39 Afghans during the war.
McBride is the first person in Australia to be jailed on war crimes charges brought to light by his leaks.
The court heard the 60-year-old admitted he provided a trove of documents to the ABC and said he was concerned about the attitude of his commanders and what he saw as “over-investigation” of the force at the time.
The information he provided underpinned a series of 2017 reports called the Afghanistan Files, which provided unprecedented insight into the operations of Australia’s elite special forces in Afghanistan and included allegations of war crimes.
Prosecutors argued McBride was motivated by “personal defence” and that he collected, stored and then leaked documents in a manner that endangered Australia’s national security and foreign policy.
But McBride’s lawyers asked for leniency, saying he shared the information out of “honorable” intentions and a sense of personal responsibility.
Sentencing the 60-year-old in the capital on Tuesday, Judge David Mossop acknowledged McBride’s “good character” but said he appeared to be too obsessed with the correctness of his views.
Before sentencing, McBride insisted his leak was justified because it ultimately exposed wrongdoing.
“I have not broken my oath to the Australian people and the soldiers who keep us safe,” he told a group of supporters including Stella Assange and whistleblower Jeff Morris.
His case has caused uproar in Australia, shining a spotlight on what some say are fragile whistleblower protections and the slow progress in prosecuting soldiers who allegedly kill with impunity under their banner.
