Whistleblower David McBride, the former army lawyer jailed for leaking secret defence documents about the Afghanistan war, was released from prison in Canberra on Thursday.
McBride had been sentenced to five years and eight months in prison for exposing Australia’s involvement in war crimes. He has been released on parole after serving his full non-parole period of 27 months (The Saturday Paper).
Upon his release, McBride thanked Attorney-General Michelle Rowland, who approved his release on Thursday, for “sparing us another long fight over the question of parole” (The Guardian).
The news was also celebrated by Greens senator David Shoebridge. “My friend David McBride has paid a terrible price for saying the truth. It’s a price no whistleblower should ever be made to pay again,” he said (The Age).
The former army lawyer will be allowed to serve the last three years of his sentence in the community under supervision and strict conditions (The Age).
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