oahi

Please support David's fight in court if you can: https://chuffed.org/project/davidmcbride

cross-posted from: https://feddit.nl/post/21795594

When?

Oct 1st, 8:30am CEST

More info on the event:

https://pace.coe.int/en/news/9600/julian-assange-to-attend-a-pace-hearing-in-strasbourg-on-his-detention-and-conviction-and-their-chilling-effect-on-human-rights

With Senator David Shoebridge & lawyer Eddie Lloyd.

David McBride, a military lawyer, was convicted and imprisoned for his disclosures to the ABC, Australia's national broadcaster, regarding serious misconduct by the country's Special Forces in Afghanistan.  

On the very day McBride was sentenced, Australia's Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles, belatedly released an unclassified 3-year report from a body called 'The Afghanistan Inquiry Implementation Oversight Panel'. He claimed that the release had been delayed, pending advice from the Office of Special Investigator, on whether the report “would, or could reasonably be expected to prejudice legal proceedings - specifically current and future war crimes prosecutions”.

The panel was to look into how cultural and professional reforms were being implemented in the Australian military, as had been the case for four years, and then in accordance with recommendations laid out in the 2020 Brereton Report, an inquiry into alleged crimes, including war crimes, committed by some Special Forces between 2005 and 2016. Brereton recommended that 19 soldiers be investigated by police for the "murder" of 39 Afghan prisoners and unarmed civilians, and the cruel treatment of two others. Besides McBride, only one soldier has been prosecuted to date, and oddly enough, McBride's case was neither cited as “current” by the Minister of Defence, nor by the Oversight Panel. Nor has its lengthy report had much attention from the media.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/24046152

Today, the 22nd of August 2024, marks 100 days since army lawyer David McBride was imprisoned in Canberra for exposing war crimes committed by Australian forces in Afghanistan.

David stood up for truth and integrity, yet now he endures death threats and solitary confinement, while those responsible remain free.

This is not how we should treat our whistleblowers in Australia! ⚖️

Demand justice! 📢 Take Action:

• Contact Mark Dreyfus or your local MP today to express your support for David.

• Create and share a social media post or a short video using the hashtag #SpeakUp4McBride to spread the word.

• Donate to support David’s legal appeal to help get him out of jail: https://chuffed.org/project/davidmcbride

• Hang the provided poster in a high-visibility location, take a photo, and share it online to encourage others to join the movement.

• 👍 Like, 💬 comment, and ↪️ share this message!

#FreeMcBride. #Justice4Afghanistan.

But while the Albanese government soaked up the plaudits for engineering Assange’s long overdue return, several of the signs on display that evening hinted that not everything was well on the home front. “Assange, McBride, Boyle”, offered one. Another particularly well-worn sign had the demand: “Fix the PID Act”. The WikiLeaks publisher may be free, but the Public Interest Disclosure Act – the whistleblower protection law for federal public servants in Australia – remains broken, as recent high-profile cases demonstrate all too well.

Some context:

https://michaelwest.com.au/whistleblower-david-mcbride-pleads-guilty/

https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/the-leadership-rewarded-and-encouraged-dishonesty-20231106-p5ehuu

https://consortiumnews.com/2023/11/17/left-with-no-defense-mcbride-plea

Stefania Maurizi, John Goetz and Christian Mihr discussed in Georg Büchner Buchladen (bookshop) in Berlin about: “What is the Purpose of Journalism if War Crimes Are Not Allowed to be Published?”.

I think this is a good question for discussion. What do you think?