Whistleblower David McBride has been released on parole after spending more than two years in a Canberra prison.

McBride’s parole was considered and granted on Thursday morning, a spokesperson for attorney-general Michelle Rowland confirmed to AAP.

“The government does not provide specific commentary or details about individual parole matters,” the spokesperson said.

McBride served his full non-parole period of 27 months.

The former army lawyer was sentenced to a maximum of five years and eight months in jail in May 2024 after he helped steal secret defence documents about the Afghanistan war. He then leaked them to the press.

He pleaded guilty to three charges after the court upheld a commonwealth intervention to withhold evidence that the government argued had the potential to jeopardise Australia’s security.

During a plea for leniency at his sentencing hearing in 2024, McBride’s barrister Stephen Odgers SC argued he had disclosed the sensitive documents because of a commitment to the public interest.

Odgers also referenced McBride’s “impaired emotional wellbeing” because of PTSD and substance abuse, as well as his sense of duty, saying he hadn’t realised he was committing a criminal offence.

McBride had aimed to expose intense investigation of Australian soldiers in Afghanistan, but it was revealed soon after that soldiers had been involved in illegal killings while on the front lines.

Following his release on Thursday, he will be allowed to serve the last three years of his sentence in the community under supervision and strict conditions.

In a statement provided by the Information Rights Project to media outlets, McBride thanked his family and supporters, as well as the attorney-general for granting his parole.

He also revealed he was being treated for lung cancer.

“While I am fit and well in most respects, I feel I should inform those who may be interested that I have been diagnosed with treatable lung cancer, in its earliest stages, and will presently undergo an operation to remove part of my lung, after which I will require some extended physical recovery,” he said.

 

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Whistleblower Justice Fund founder and former senator Rex Patrick said McBride had been “brave” in blowing the whistle on war crimes.

“It’s so good to see the end of an awful saga that should never have happened. I salute David who walks away from prison with his head held high,” he said.