Australian army whistleblower released on parole after more than two years in jail

What the report says

Australian whistleblower David McBride has been released on parole after serving 27 months of a five-year-and-eight-month sentence, according to BBC World News. McBride, a former military lawyer, pleaded guilty in 2023 to stealing and leaking top-secret defence material about Australia’s role in Afghanistan.

The BBC reports that the parole decision was confirmed on Thursday by a spokesperson for Attorney-General Michelle Rowland. McBride will complete the rest of his sentence in the community under supervision while also receiving treatment for lung cancer. In a statement shared through advocacy group The Information Rights Project, he thanked his family and supporters and said he would undergo surgery to remove part of his lung.

McBride’s leaked material helped drive the 2017 Afghan Files reporting by the ABC, which gave rare detail about Australia’s special forces operations in Afghanistan. That reporting later fed into the Brereton inquiry, which found credible evidence that Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghans. The inquiry also led to the creation of a special investigator to examine cases involving defence personnel.

The case has remained a sensitive one in Australia because it sits at the intersection of national security, military accountability and public-interest disclosure. The BBC notes that prosecutors and McBride’s lawyers offered sharply different views of his motives during sentencing, and his parole now shifts the focus from custody to ongoing supervision and health treatment.