The man accused of leaking information about Australian soldiers' alleged war crimes in Afghanistan has finally received a trial date, four years after he was charged.
Former military officer and lawyer David McBride faces five charges, including theft, disclosing information in breach of the Crimes Act and unlawfully giving classified information under the Defence Act.
His trial in the ACT Supreme Court will begin in November.
Mr McBride allegedly passed on classified documents to three journalists.
Details of the alleged war crimes were first made public in 2017 in an ABC series known as the Afghan Files.
Earlier, the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force had commissioned an investigation of "rumours" of potential war crimes, which led to the so-called Brereton report.
That report recommended police investigate 19 special forces soldiers for the alleged murders of 39 Afghan prisoners and civilians, and the cruel treatment of two others.
The case against Mr McBride led to a highly publicised Australian Federal Police raid on the ABC's Sydney headquarters in 2019.
Mr McBride had hoped to argue he should be immune from prosecution because he was a whistleblower who had acted in the public interest.
But his application was withdrawn last year when the Commonwealth moved to remove key expert evidence from the hearings.
Supporters urge government to drop charges
Mr McBride was not in court on Thursday for the short hearing to set his trial date, but he was in Canberra earlier in the week when his supporters protested outside the court.
The trial will run for three weeks, but it is not known whether it will be held in secret.
Kieran Pender, a senior lawyer with the Human Rights Law Centre, urged the federal government to abandon Mr McBride's case, saying it should never have started.
"Whistleblowers who speak up about grave human rights violations should be protected, not prosecuted," Mr Pender said.
"There is no public interest in prosecuting David McBride, who blew the whistle on alleged war crimes committed by Australian forces in Afghanistan.
"With a trial date now set for late 2023, McBride will have spent more than five years facing punishment by process."
