An Australian whistleblower who exposed allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan has pleaded guilty to leaking classified information.
Former military lawyer David McBride pleaded guilty to three charges of stealing and unlawfully sharing secret military information, which was then passed on to journalists at ABC News.
McBride told the media outside the courtroom: “I’ll say one thing, and that is, I stand tall, and I believe I did my duty … and I see this as the beginning of a better Australia.”
His admission of guilt comes after the Australian Capital Territory’s Supreme Court decided to uphold a Commonwealth intervention to withhold crucial evidence due to its potential to jeopardise “the security and defence of Australia” if disclosed.
ABC News used the information provided by McBride in 2017 as the basis for its investigative series The Afghan Files, which provided an unprecedented insight into alleged war crimes committed by Australia’s elite special forces in Afghanistan.