Former military lawyer David McBride sentenced to 5 years

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Former military lawyer David McBride has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for stealing secret documents and sharing them with three journalists. There was uproar in the court after the sentencing as his supporters called out to the judge. Observers say the punishment will have a chilling effect on anyone who wants to expose corruption.

Transcript

00:00 It's been a familiar walk, with early morning protesters gathering to show their support.

00:07 I may have broken the law, but I did not break my oath to the people of Australia and the

00:16 soldiers who keep us safe.

00:19 McBride pleaded guilty last year. He said he believed the military was over prosecuting

00:24 soldiers for the sake of PR. Two of the journalists did nothing with the material, but the ABC's

00:30 Dan Oakes used it for the Afghan files, which exposed allegations Australian soldiers had

00:36 been involved in illegal killings. It's not the story McBride wanted told, but today he

00:43 faced the consequences of sharing the files.

00:46 Justice David Mossop said "I do not accept that he held a belief that what he was doing

00:52 was not a criminal offence." Justice Mossop said McBride became "obsessed" that his opinions

00:59 were correct and was not prepared to work within the Army's rules. He decided he knew

01:06 best.

01:06 Justice Mossop also said McBride's PTSD played only a minor role in the offending and others

01:13 needed to be deterred. They must know that breaching their legal obligations will be

01:18 met by significant punishment.

01:21 That will have a chilling effect on other whistleblowers speaking up. More wrongdoing

01:25 won't be exposed as a result of this jail sentence and our country will be worse off

01:30 as a result.

01:31 McBride's supporters have kept up a long campaign, and not just in the court, as his case was

01:37 swept up in a wider movement supporting whistleblowers. His lawyer said the sentence was a shocking

01:43 blow for a man who thought he'd be vindicated.

01:46 Well he wasn't vindicated today, he was taken away in handcuffs. That's a very hard blow

01:52 for any person.

01:53 The case is now in its sixth year and there may be more to come with McBride's lawyers

01:58 looking to appeal on two fronts, including the severity of the sentence. McBride will

02:04 serve a non-parole period of just over two years.

02:08 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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