Mr. McBride pled guilty to the charges after preliminary applications for potential legal defences failed. In particular, the trial judge, Justice David Mossop, indicated in an earlier ruling that he would not instruct the jury that they could consider McBride's proposed argument that he acted out of a sense of duty to the Australian public.
The Australian Director of Human Rights Watch, Daniela Gavshon, suggested that McBride’s sentencing was evidence that Australia’s whistleblowing laws needed exemptions in the public interest:
“It is a stain on Australia’s reputation that some of its soldiers have been accused of war crimes in Afghanistan, and yet the first person convicted in relation to these crimes is a whistleblower not the abusers ..."
This matter has received global news coverage, including from the BBC, and CNN, as well as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the news outlet with which McBride shared the secret information.
His counsel have announced that they will appeal (and that fund-raising through social media platforms has provided sufficient financing to appeal).
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