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Australian who blew whistle on alleged war crimes in Afghanistan pleads guilty
David McBride, a former army lawyer who revealed information about alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan, has pleaded guilty to leaking classified information.
David McBride was due to face trial next week, but changed his plea after a legal ruling scuppered his defence, BBC reported.
McBride said he felt a moral duty to speak up after his internal complaints were ignored.
A landmark inquiry later found evidence that Australian forces had unlawfully killed 39 Afghans during the war.
McBride admits he gave troves of documents to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), because he was concerned about what he then thought was the “over-investigation” of troops, the court heard.
He pleaded guilty on Friday to three charges of stealing and unlawfully sharing secret military information.
The information he provided underpinned a series of reports in 2017 called The Afghan Files, which gave unprecedented insight into the operations of Australia’s elite special forces in Afghanistan, and contained allegations of war crimes.
McBride was arrested in 2019, and initially faced five charges, including charges of theft of Commonwealth property, breaching the Defence Act and unauthorised disclosure of information.
He had intended to argue his disclosure was protected by whistleblower safeguards in Australia. But his legal team say they were forced to withdraw that defence after much of their arguments were ruled to endanger national security.
After failed attempts to convince Attorney General Mark Dreyfus to intervene and drop the prosecution – as Mr Dreyfus did in the case of fellow whistleblower Bernard Collaery last year – McBride then tried to argue that he had a duty to leaking the documents, because doing so was in the public interest.
After several days of pre-trial argument, a judge rejected the argument and ruled that they could not be put to a jury.
His defence lawyer Mark Davis said this would have dealt his defence a “fatal blow”, with McBride eventually entering a guilty plea.
He is expected to be sentenced early next year.
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Sirajuddin Haqqani visits Panjshir, meets tribal elders and influential figures
Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani visited Panjshir province on Thursday and met with tribal elders and influential figures from various districts at the provincial governor’s office.
The Ministry of Interior said the participants raised their concerns, demands and suggestions with Haqqani during the meeting.
According to the ministry, Haqqani listened to their concerns and instructed relevant officials to take necessary steps to address the issues raised.
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Iran executes Afghan man over charges related to January protests
Iran executed an Afghan man on Thursday over charges related to January’s nationwide protests, local media reported.
The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights identified the person as Qaem Hosseini, a 20-year-old Afghan national.
Iran’s state media said he took part in events that led to the killing of security force members during the protests.
He was accused of taking part in events on January 8, 2026, at Alikhani Square in Isfahan, during which four Iranian security forces were killed.
Hosseini is the fifth defendant in the case to be executed. Four other defendants, including his cousin Gol Mohammad Mohammadi, had previously been executed.
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US in talks over resettlement of Afghan refugees in Qatar to third countries
More than 1,000 Afghans who were evacuated to a U.S. military facility in Qatar following the Islamic Emirate’s return to power in 2021 remain in limbo, with no clear path to the United States, NPR reports.
The Afghans have been staying at Camp As Sayliyah after being airlifted out of Afghanistan during the final days of the U.S. war. Some have been there for more than a year while waiting for a decision on their future.
The U.S. State Department told NPR that negotiations are continuing over where the Afghans could be resettled.
“A third country is a positive resolution that provides safety for these remaining people to start a new life outside Afghanistan while upholding the safety and security of the American people,” the U.S. State Department said in an email to NPR.
The situation at the camp has become more difficult amid the war in the Gulf. Sean Jamshidi, a former U.S. Marine, told NPR that missiles were launched during the conflict and debris fell near the camp, including fragments that entered the building where his family members were staying.
U.S. veterans and lawmakers have also called on Washington to protect Afghans who supported American forces. Republican Congressman Don Bacon, a retired brigadier general, said the United States has a “moral obligation” to people who served alongside its troops and that promises made to them should be kept.
There have also been reports that some of the Afghans could be sent to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Islamic Emirate has said that Afghanistan is the shared homeland of all Afghans, stressing that returnees can come back with “full confidence and peace of mind.”
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