China News Service, July 29th, a comprehensive report. On the 27th local time, a US district judge announced that the former US Air Force intelligence analyst Hale (Daniel Hale) disclosed to the media confidential information about military drones and was found to have violated the Espionage Act. ", sentenced to 45 months imprisonment.

　　[Exposing the killing of civilians by U.S. drones]

　　Hale, 33, works for the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) and previously served in the National Security Agency.

He was assigned to Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan as an intelligence analyst in 2012, tracking mobile phone signals to locate the target of drone attacks.

Data map: US troops stationed in Afghanistan.

　　After retiring from service, Hale provided more than 150 pages of classified materials to an investigative reporter in 2014, revealing the details of the operation of the U.S. UAV, showing that the UAV's strike capability is not as accurate as Washington said and can cause civilian deaths.

He was formally indicted by the Federal Court in 2019 and pleaded guilty in 2021.

　　Hale said that he leaked military information to reporters because he witnessed the indiscriminate killing of Afghan civilians by the U.S. drone project. He felt very regretful and fearful. He felt that he indirectly caused the murder of civilians and his conscience was disturbed. I question whether my actions are proper or not every day."

　　He also emphasized that he did not regret leaking the secrets, but regretted having participated in the drone project and claimed the precious lives of others. He hoped that he could break the US military's claim that the drone war mode can ensure the safety of civilians.

　　[Lawyer: The leak is out of conscience]

　　Hale said in the statement, “Killing is wrong, especially the killing of unarmed people.” However, he admitted that he was responsible for his actions and asked the judge to lighten the sentence.

　　Hale’s lawyers demanded a sentence of 12 to 18 months, stating that Hale’s leaks were conscientious, exposing unethical crimes committed by Washington under the guise of secrecy, and there is no evidence that Washington was actually harmed by the leakage of confidential information.

　　However, the prosecutor said that in a piece of online material designed to help the extremist organization "Islamic State" avoid hunting down, Hare had found leaked documents.

　　Judge O'Grady said that in addition to leaking secrets to reporters, Hale can also express his concerns through other channels, such as resigning from the military or asking his boss for instructions.

The prosecution demanded that Hale be sentenced to 11 years in prison, and the judge finally sentenced him to 45 months.