The sentencing of David McBride, who pleaded guilty to leaking classified documents that exposed alleged war crimes, has been pushed back.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
McBride's sentencing has been delayed to May 6 after he was due to be sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on March 12.
The sentencing is expected to last two days.
McBride's lawyers disputed a sentencing submission from the prosecution that relied on an expert witness outlining the possible harm the leaked documents could have caused.
The parties haven't agreed to a statement of facts before sentencing and the defence argued the prosecution's submission constituted new evidence being presented before the court.
The delay arose after both parties failed to provide adequate assistance to the court registrar ahead of sentencing, the court was told on Wednesday.
McBride pleaded guilty in November to three offences including stealing commonwealth information and passing it onto journalists.
But he maintained he did his duty by shining a light on wrongdoing.
The leaked documents led to a series of reports that alleged Australian special forces soldiers committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
An inquiry later uncovered credible information about 23 incidents of potential war crimes, which involved the killing of 39 Afghans and cruel treatment of two more between 2005 and 2016.
Australian Associated Press
