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== Anonymity orders ==
== Anonymity orders ==
Running in parallel to the Marines' criminal trial were legal proceedings relating to the anonymity of the defendants. In the autumn of 2012, Judges Advocate Elsom and Blackett made [[anonymity order]]s for the Marine defendants due to the risk to the defendants' lives posed by their being named.<ref name="BAILII"/><ref name="Guardian named"/> The move had been opposed by elements of the UK media.<ref name="BAILII"/> These anonymity orders preventing the naming of the defendants in the trial were upheld at the beginning of the trial in October 2013.<ref name="BAILII"/> The order was lifted for Blackman (hitherto Marine A)<ref name="R v ABCDE"/> on 5 December 2013 by the [[High Court in London|High Court]].<ref name="BBC named"/> The most senior figure involved in that verdict was [[Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales|Lord Chief Justice]] [[John Thomas, Baron Thomas of Cwmgiedd|Lord Thomas]].<ref name="BBC named"/><ref name="Independent jailed"/> The same ruling had it that the identities of Marines B and C also be revealed unless they submit an appeal to the [[Supreme Court of the United Kingdom|Supreme Court]].<ref name="Guardian BC"/> No such appeal was lodged within the set deadline, and so, on 19 December 2013, Marine B was named as Corporal Christopher Glyn Watson and Marine C was named as Marine Jack Alexander Hammond.<ref name="Guardian BC"/> The question of the continuing anonymity of Marines D and E will be addressed at another hearing.<ref name="BBC named"/><ref name="Guardian BC"/>
Running in parallel to the Marines' criminal trial were legal proceedings relating to the anonymity of the defendants. In the autumn of 2012, Judges Advocate Elsom and Blackett made [[anonymity order]]s for the Marine defendants due to the risk to the defendants' lives posed by their being named.<ref name="BAILII"/><ref name="Guardian named"/> The move had been opposed by elements of the UK media.<ref name="BAILII"/> These anonymity orders preventing the naming of the defendants in the trial were upheld at the beginning of the trial in October 2013.<ref name="BAILII"/> The order was lifted for Blackman (hitherto Marine A)<ref name="R v ABCDE"/> on 5 December 2013 by the [[High Court in London|High Court]].<ref name="BBC named"/> The most senior figure involved in that verdict was [[Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales|Lord Chief Justice]] [[John Thomas, Baron Thomas of Cwmgiedd|Lord Thomas]].<ref name="BBC named"/><ref name="Independent jailed"/> The same ruling had it that the identities of Marines B and C also be revealed unless they submit an appeal to the [[Supreme Court of the United Kingdom|Supreme Court]].<ref name="Guardian BC"/> No such appeal was lodged within the set deadline, and so, on 19 December 2013, Marine B was named as Corporal Christopher Glyn Watson and Marine C was named as Marine Jack Alexander Hammond.<ref name="R v ABCDE 19 Dec"/><ref name="Guardian BC"/> The anonymity of Marines D and E was upheld on 19 December "pending any further order by the [[Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces|Judge Advocate General]]".<ref name="R v ABCDE 19 Dec"/>


Jeff Blackett also restricted public access to the evidence used at the trial, releasing on 8 November stills, audio clips and transcripts from the serviceman's video that was played to the court-martial board,<ref name="Mirror audio"/> but ruling that the full video itself not be released,<ref name="DVD"/><ref name="Guardian named"/><ref name="Mirror audio"/> since doing so "would increase the threat of harm to British service personnel."<ref name="DVD"/><ref name="Mirror audio"/> On 5 December 2013, the Court Martial Appeal Court upheld the earlier decisions prohibiting the release of the video footage of the attack and some of the stills from it.<ref name="BAILII"/> The Court stated, however, that the prohibition was to prevent the material being used for [[radicalisation]], rather than it posing a risk to the life of the defendants.<ref name="BAILII"/>
Jeff Blackett also restricted public access to the evidence used at the trial, releasing on 8 November stills, audio clips and transcripts from the serviceman's video that was played to the court-martial board,<ref name="Mirror audio"/> but ruling that the full video itself not be released,<ref name="DVD"/><ref name="Guardian named"/><ref name="Mirror audio"/> since doing so "would increase the threat of harm to British service personnel."<ref name="DVD"/><ref name="Mirror audio"/> On 5 December 2013, the Court Martial Appeal Court upheld the earlier decisions prohibiting the release of the video footage of the attack and some of the stills from it.<ref name="BAILII"/> The Court stated, however, that the prohibition was to prevent the material being used for [[radicalisation]], rather than it posing a risk to the life of the defendants.<ref name="BAILII"/>
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<ref name="R v ABCDE">{{cite court |litigants= R. v. Marines A, B, C, D & E|vol= |reporter= |opinion= |pinpoint= |court= [[Military_Courts_of_the_United_Kingdom#Court_Martial_Appeal_Court|Court Martial Appeal Court]] and Divisional Court of The [[Queen's Bench Division]]|date= {{date|5 December 2013}}|url=http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/Judgments/marine-a-order.pdf|accessdate= {{date|16 December 2013}}|quote=}}</ref>
<ref name="R v ABCDE">{{cite court |litigants= R. v. Marines A, B, C, D & E|vol= |reporter= |opinion= |pinpoint= |court= [[Military_Courts_of_the_United_Kingdom#Court_Martial_Appeal_Court|Court Martial Appeal Court]] and Divisional Court of The [[Queen's Bench Division]]|date= {{date|5 December 2013}}|url=http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/Judgments/marine-a-order.pdf|accessdate= {{date|16 December 2013}}|quote=}}</ref>

<ref name="R v ABCDE 19 Dec">{{cite court|date={{date|19 December 2013}}|accessdate={{date|24 November 2014}}|litigants=R -v- Marines A, B, C, D & E|url=http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/judgments/r-v-marines-a-b-c-d-e/|court=[[Military_Courts_of_the_United_Kingdom#Court_Martial_Appeal_Court|Court Martial Appeal Court]]}}</ref>


<ref name="Guardian BC">{{cite news|author=[[Press Association]]|date={{date|19 December 2013}}|url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/19/court-names-royal-marines-acquitted-afghan-murder|accessdate={{date|19 December 2013}}|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|title=Court names Royal Marines acquitted of Afghan insurgent's murder|archivedate={{date|December 20, 2013}}|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220121758/http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/19/court-names-royal-marines-acquitted-afghan-murder}}</ref>
<ref name="Guardian BC">{{cite news|author=[[Press Association]]|date={{date|19 December 2013}}|url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/19/court-names-royal-marines-acquitted-afghan-murder|accessdate={{date|19 December 2013}}|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|title=Court names Royal Marines acquitted of Afghan insurgent's murder|archivedate={{date|December 20, 2013}}|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220121758/http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/19/court-names-royal-marines-acquitted-afghan-murder}}</ref>

Revision as of 17:04, 24 November 2014

Not to be confused with 2007 Helmand Province incident.
Map of Afghanistan with Helmand highlighted.

The 2011 Helmand Province incident was the killing, on 15 September 2011,[1] of an injured Taliban insurgent by Royal Marines.[2] Three Royal Marines, known during their trial as Marines A, B, and C, were anonymously tried by court-martial. On 8 November 2013,[1][2][3] Marines B and C were acquitted,[1][4] but Marine A was found guilty of the murder of the Afghan combatant,[1] in contravention of section 42 of the Armed Forces Act 2006.[3] Later, on 5 December,[3] Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas and two other judges sitting at the High Court in London lifted the existing anonymity order on Marine A, allowing him to be named as Sergeant Alexander Wayne Blackman.[5] On 6 December, Blackman was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 10 years,[6] and dismissed with disgrace from the British Armed Forces.[7] On 22 May 2014, the Court of Appeal reduced his minimum term to 8 years.[8]

On 19 December 2013, the anonymity order on Marines B and C was also lifted by the Court, and they were named as Corporal Christopher Glyn Watson and Marine Jack Alexander Hammond.[9]

The event

The incident took place in Helmand Province during Operation Herrick 14,[5] part of the British effort in the War in Afghanistan. Blackman, of 42 Commando, Royal Marines,[10] was part of a Marine patrol that came across an Afghan fighter in a field wounded by Apache Helicopter gunfire.[1][7][11] Blackman ordered the Afghan to be moved out of sight of the British Persistent Ground Surveillance System.[1] Video evidence played at the Marines' subsequent trial shows them dragging the man across the field and then kicking him.[12] Blackman ordered other servicemen to stop administering first aid to the insurgent[1] and eventually shot the man in the chest with a 9 mm pistol,[7][12] saying: "Shuffle off this mortal coil, you cunt."[11][12][13][9] He then added: "I just broke the Geneva Convention."[3][14]

Criminal trial and sentencing

The Law Courts building, housing the High Court.

After the 15 September incident, Blackman continued with his tour of duty, leaving Helmand Province in late October 2011.[5] On 13 October 2012, at the decision of the Service Prosecution Authority, Marines A–E were charged with the murder of the unnamed Afghan insurgent.[1] The lead came after British civilian police discovered suspicious video footage on a serviceman's laptop.[2] Marines D and E had charges against them dropped on 5 February 2013.[1] Marines A, B and C first appeared in court in August 2013, where they entered a not-guilty plea.[2] The military trial of Marines A, B and C, protected from view in court behind a screen because of an anonymity order,[2] began on 23 October 2013[1] and lasted two weeks.[2] Their court-martial board (equivalent to a jury in the civilian justice system)[1] was seven strong,[3][13] something usually only done for the more serious cases.[15]

The verdict (8 November 2013)[1] and sentence (6 December 2013) were both delivered at the Military Court Centre in Bulford, Wiltshire.[2][3][6] The judge advocate (the civilian judge heading up the panel at a court-martial)[15] was Judge Advocate General Jeff Blackett.[11] The verdict carried with it a mandatory life sentence,[2][7] so it was only in the judge advocate's and court-martial board's power to decide on the minimum sentence once the board had found Blackman guilty.[15] He was sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison.[6] On 22 May 2014, at the Courts Martial Appeal Court, its most senior judge, Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas, upheld the life sentence, but reduced Blackman's minimum term to 8 years.[8]

Anonymity orders

Running in parallel to the Marines' criminal trial were legal proceedings relating to the anonymity of the defendants. In the autumn of 2012, Judges Advocate Elsom and Blackett made anonymity orders for the Marine defendants due to the risk to the defendants' lives posed by their being named.[1][5] The move had been opposed by elements of the UK media.[1] These anonymity orders preventing the naming of the defendants in the trial were upheld at the beginning of the trial in October 2013.[1] The order was lifted for Blackman (hitherto Marine A)[10] on 5 December 2013 by the High Court.[3] The most senior figure involved in that verdict was Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas.[3][4] The same ruling had it that the identities of Marines B and C also be revealed unless they submit an appeal to the Supreme Court.[9] No such appeal was lodged within the set deadline, and so, on 19 December 2013, Marine B was named as Corporal Christopher Glyn Watson and Marine C was named as Marine Jack Alexander Hammond.[16][9] The anonymity of Marines D and E was upheld on 19 December "pending any further order by the Judge Advocate General".[16]

Jeff Blackett also restricted public access to the evidence used at the trial, releasing on 8 November stills, audio clips and transcripts from the serviceman's video that was played to the court-martial board,[12] but ruling that the full video itself not be released,[17][5][12] since doing so "would increase the threat of harm to British service personnel."[17][12] On 5 December 2013, the Court Martial Appeal Court upheld the earlier decisions prohibiting the release of the video footage of the attack and some of the stills from it.[1] The Court stated, however, that the prohibition was to prevent the material being used for radicalisation, rather than it posing a risk to the life of the defendants.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Marines A & Ors v Guardian News and Media & Other Media [2013] EWCA Crim 2367 (5 December 2013), Court Martial Appeal Court (England and Wales)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Littlewood, Alex (8 November 2013). "Marine guilty of Afghanistan murder". BBC News. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Beale, Jonathan; Wyatt, Caroline (5 December 2013). "Marine convicted of Afghan murder named". BBC News. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  4. ^ a b Morris, Nigel (6 December 2013). "Royal Marine Sgt Alexander Blackman jailed for life for the murder of Afghan insurgent". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d e Morris, Steven; Norton-Taylor, Richard (5 December 2013). "Marine who murdered Taliban prisoner loses fight to remain anonymous". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  6. ^ a b c "Marine 'devastated' after prison sentence". The Daily Telegraph. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d R. v. Sergeant Alexander Wayne Blackman (Bulford Military Court 6 December 2013), Text.
  8. ^ a b R -v- Sergeant Alexander Wayne Blackman and Secretary of State for Defence [2014] EWCA Crim 1029 (22 May 2014), Courts Martial Appeal Court (England and Wales)
  9. ^ a b c d Press Association (19 December 2013). "Court names Royal Marines acquitted of Afghan insurgent's murder". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  10. ^ a b R. v. Marines A, B, C, D & E (Court Martial Appeal Court and Divisional Court of The Queen's Bench Division 5 December 2013), Text.
  11. ^ a b c Farmer, Ben (6 December 2013). "Killer Marine told he 'increased risk of revenge attacks' and sentenced to minimum 10 years". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Stretch, Euan (8 November 2013). "'Could put one in his head if you want?': Court martial tape of alleged execution released". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  13. ^ a b Robson, Steve (6 December 2013). "Royal Marine Sergeant Alexander Blackman jailed for ten years for executing injured Taliban insurgent". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  14. ^ Terrill, Chris (9 April 2014). Marine 'A': Criminal or Casualty of War? (Television production). BBC One. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  15. ^ a b c Rozenberg, Joshua (5 December 2013). "Marine's life sentence is fixed by law – but the minimum term is not so simple". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  16. ^ a b R -v- Marines A, B, C, D & E (Court Martial Appeal Court 19 December 2013), Text.
  17. ^ a b R -v- Marines A, B and C (Bulford Military Court 28 October 2013), Text.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2011_Helmand_Province_killing&oldid=635259995"