David McBride, the former army lawyer jailed for his role in stealing secret defence documents about the Afghanistan war and leaking them to the media, has been released from prison in Canberra on Thursday.
McBride was sentenced to a maximum five years and eight months in jail in May 2024, but is being released on parole after serving his full non-parole period of 27 months.
McBride pleaded guilty to three charges in November after the ACT supreme court upheld a commonwealth intervention to withhold key evidence the government argued had the potential to jeopardise “the security and defence of Australia”. The charges included stealing commonwealth information and passing that on to journalists at the ABC.
The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, approved McBride’s release on Thursday.
A spokesperson for Rowland confirmed his release to Guardian Australia.
“Mr McBride’s parole was considered and granted,” the spokesperson said.
“The government does not provide specific commentary or details about individual parole matters.”
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailMcBride released a statement after the decision, thanking Rowland “for sparing us another long fight over the question of parole.”
“After all we both want the same thing, a better Australia for our children, so it seems a waste to be fighting each other, rather than working together,” he said.
He said he would make a more comprehensive statement at a later date and acknowledged his family, prison officers and his fellow inmates.
McBride also revealed he was diagnosed with treatable lung cancer, currently in its early stages. He is expected to undergo surgery imminently.
“Many thanked me for allowing them to believe in this country again, in turn, I thank them for showing me there are so many good people in the world worth fighting for,” he said.
McBride collected mostly secret military information over an 18-month period in 2014 and 2015 and handed it to journalists at the public broadcaster. The material was used as the basis for an investigative series exposing war crimes committed by Australian defence personnel in Afghanistan titled The Afghan Files.
The court heard a total of 235 documents were taken by McBride from defence offices – mostly in the ACT – between May 2014 and December 2015 with 207 of them classified as secret and some marked as cabinet documents.
Whistleblower turned independent MP Andrew Wilkie said McBride should never have been convicted.
“Mr McBride’s experience is emblematic of the plight many whistleblowers continue to face in this country, including weak legal protections and a succession of antagonistic governments who seem to think it’s better to punish whistleblowers and deter their colleagues, than to celebrate them and respond to their concerns,” he said.
Former independent senator and transparency campaigner Rex Patrick said McBride would walk away from prison with his head held high.
“David served Australians, both in the Army and in his brave act of blowing the whistle on war crimes that took place in Afghanistan. It’s so good to see the end of an awful saga that should never have happened.”
The Information Rights Project founder, Gabriel Shipton, praised the government for the decision, as well as for assistance provided to his brother, Julian Assange.
“David shouldn’t have gone to prison in the first place, but freeing a whistleblower will not go un-noticed,” Shipton said.
“It’s real-world outcomes like these that make a difference to the lives of courageous individuals who blow the whistle. A massive shout-out to all those who supported David through his epic battle for justice.”
