David McBride—a former army lawyer who revealed information about alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan—could be facing a “life sentence” if found guilty in a trial that started on Monday.
While Australia has established an independent special investigator into alleged war crimes committed by Australian troops in Afghanistan, supporters of McBride point out he is facing a criminal trial before any of the perpetrators of the alleged wrongdoing he helped reveal.
McBride is open about the fact he leaked documents to the ABC, Australia’s public broadcaster, leading to a series of articles called the Afghan Files.
McBride has not been the first or only person to reveal information about alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan.
Dramatically, an Australian judge found earlier this year that journalists had not defamed one of Australia’s most highly decorated soldiers Ben Roberts-Smith by saying he was “complicit in and responsible for the murder” of three Afghan men.
That case was a notable moment that came more than seven years after the Australian government established an inquiry, led by Supreme Court Justice Paul Brereton, into allegations that Australian troops had committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
In 2020, Brereton handed down findings that there was credible evidence to support allegations war crimes had been committed.
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