A former Australian Army lawyer who leaked classified documents exposing alleged crimes in Afghanistan has been sentenced to more than five years in prison.

David McBride, a former army lawyer, has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison for leaking classified information about alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan.

He was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to three charges including theft and sharing with members of the press documents classified as secret.

David McBride is the first person prosecuted over the documented war crimes, including extrajudicial killings—not for perpetrating them but for exposing them.

Eight years after Australia began investigating war crimes in Afghanistan, a whistleblower is the first to be punished.

David McBride, a military lawyer, was accused of stealing 207 classified documents and allowing journalists to copy and use them

MELBOURNE, Australia -- An Army whistleblower who exposed alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan has been sentenced to prison.

A former Australian army lawyer has been sentenced to almost six years in prison for leaking classified information that exposed allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan.

An Australian ex-military lawyer known as the accidental whistleblower for inadvertently leaking secret documents about alleged war crimes in Afghanistan has been jailed.

In a ruling that has been met with widespread criticism and concern for its implications on press freedom and whistleblower protections, David McBride, a former Australian Army lawyer, has been sentenced to five years and eight months in prison for his role in leaking classified documents that exposed alleged war crimes by Australian Special Forces