On Monday morning, 13 November, over 100 people gathered in front of the Supreme Court in Canberra in support of David McBride, who blew the whistle on war crimes in Afghanistan.
McBride was a barrister who had studied at Oxford University before he joined the army as a captain. He was promoted to major and did a tour of Afghanistan. He said on Sunday afternoon at the Truth Not War festival in Canberra: ‘There is a problem with the generals, not with the corporals and privates’.
50 years in jail for whistleblower?
McBride is facing up to 50 years in jail for five charges in relation to him stealing and disclosing classified information about alleged misconduct by Australian special forces in Afghanastan.
McBride said he had repeatedly tried to raise awareness about these issues through the legal channels in the army. However, when no one was taking the issues forward he felt it his duty, in relation to public interest and his oath to the Queen, that he take action. Therefore, McBride handed his findings to the ABC who published the story on war crimes in Afghanistan. This resulted in the Australian Federal Police raiding the ABC Sydney headquarters in June 2019.
Call to drop charges
Supporters outside the court on Monday demanded that the charges against McBride be dropped and the real criminals be put on trial. There were quite a few celebrities and other whistleblowers speaking in support of McBride while they were waiting for him to come to court.
As he arrived with his legal team he called out: ‘Today I serve my country. And the question I have for you, Anthony Albanese is, “who do you serve?”.’
Anyone know what action was taken against the Defence Force or other appropriate people, to whom McBride revealed his concerns before he went to the ABC? If no prompt action was taken allowing evidence trails to fade or disappear, can these people be prosecuted or at least demoted and/or disciplined for their failure to act?