Former Australian Army lawyer David McBride is being prosecuted for allegedly leaking a cache of documents to the ABC that informed a series on alleged war crimes in Afghanistan and led to a much-publicized federal police raid on the ABC’s Sydney offices in 2019.
Two experts were set to support McBride’s case, but commonwealth lawyers sought to have their testimony quashed under public interest immunity laws. The laws suppress information that would prejudice the public interest if they were made public.
McBride now faces a jury trial on five charges, including the unauthorized disclosure of information, theft of commonwealth property and breaching the Defense Act.
The Brereton report, that resulted in part from allegations stemming from McBride’s disclosures, found credible evidence of war crimes by Australian special forces while serving in Afghanistan, including 39 murders, executions and allegations of torture.
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