October 27, 2022 — 2.01pm
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The man who blew the whistle on alleged war crimes committed by Australian troops in Afghanistan will face prosecution.
Lawyers for former military lawyer David McBride withdrew an application to have him protected under whistleblower laws after the Commonwealth moved to suppress expert evidence.
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 said there was little prospect of success without their evidence.
“The government played the national security card to the absolute hilt,” he told media outside the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday.
His lawyer Mark Davis said it’s common for sensitive material – such as what may have been included by the two experts – to come before the courts.
The judge has the power to then close the court to the public and media.
“If I could show it to you, the material is not that controversial,” Mr Davis told media.
“But you would think it’s identities of agents or codes.”
McBride is now facing a jury trial on five charges, including the unauthorised disclosure of information, theft of commonwealth property and breaching the Defence Act.
He shone a light on allegations of Australian special forces committing war crimes in Afghanistan, disclosing...
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