April 2, 2023 — 5.01am
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The laying of a war crime charge against a former Australian SAS soldier has led to a renewed call for charges against whistleblower David McBride to be dropped.
Former SAS soldier Oliver Schulz became the first Australian serviceman or veteran to be charged with the war crime of murder over the killing of Dad Mohammad in Uruzgan province in 2012. He was granted bail on Tuesday, after a magistrate found his safety and his ability to mount a legal defence would be affected if he remained in custody.
McBride is facing a jury trial over the leaking of a cache of documents to the ABC shortly after his discharge from the ADF, which formed the basis of its 2017 “Afghan Files” investigation. The subsequent Brereton Report found credible evidence of war crimes committed by Australian special forces, with 39 murders, executions and allegations of torture.
McBride faces five charges relating to the unauthorised disclosure of information, theft of Commonwealth property and breaching the Defence Act, and could face up to 50 years in prison.
Senior lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre Kieran Pender said the Schulz case “underscores the importance of McBride’s whistleblowing” and called on Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus to drop the case against McBride.
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