4mo ago

Australia whistleblower who exposed war crime allegations loses bid to reduce prison sentence

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.”

“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.

11 comments

Absolutely farcical that McBride's in jail while Ben Roberts-Smith is free.
- They let the war criminal go free and punished the messenger. We're also financing a genocide that like 80% of the population oppose.
  Seems we're just another corporate dictatorship masquerading as "democracy".
What a miscarriage of justice
If you want to know more about his situation BoyBoy made a video with him last year before he went to prison.
Are whistleblowers not protected by law in Aus? We are actively encouraged in our country, but there is a very strict framework to be followed for it to be legal
- There are protections, but as always legality can be questioned. In this case, I think he got fucked:
  Eventually, the Department of Defence claimed public interest immunity over key information. This allows the government to withhold evidence (such as classified material) from the court on public interest grounds.
  It means neither party can rely on the information.
  This strategic decision meant McBride faced difficulties establishing key aspects of his whistleblower case. This included whether the information revealed relevant wrongdoing, his attempts to tell the department or police about his concerns, or whether the extent of the disclosure was necessary to establish wrongdoing.
  https://theconversation.com/david-mcbride-is-facing-jailtime-for-helping-reveal-alleged-war-crimes-will-it-end-whistleblowing-in-australia-218108
  
  How can his attempts to tell the department or police about his concerns be considered classified information.
  That is some bullshit.
  
  Thanks for digging for the info!
- On the non-state-security side:
  Not anything near what it's like in the US. There are no incentives. "If you decide to blow the whistle you had better be financially independent"
I can’t help but bring up this topic again because it’s really important for anyone thinking about reporting wrongdoing.

11 comments