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2011 Helmand Province killing

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Map of Afghanistan with Helmand highlighted

The 2011 Helmand Province incident was the alleged killing, on 15 September 2011,[1] of a fatally wounded 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] This made him the first British soldier to be convicted of a battlefield murder whilst serving abroad since the Second World War.[5]

On 5 December,[3] Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas and two other High Court judges lifted the existing anonymity order on Marine A, allowing him to be named as Sergeant Alexander Wayne Blackman.[6] On 6 December, Blackman was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 10 years,[7] and dismissed with disgrace from the British Armed Forces.[8] On 22 May 2014, the Court of Appeal reduced his minimum term to 8 years.[9]

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.[10]

On 28 October 2015, the Ministry of Defence banned a large number of serving soldiers from attending a rally in support of Sergeant Blackman, saying that the event was a 'political protest'. However, lawyers representing the rally organisers stated that was not the case, rather, the event was 'a show of support to one of our fellow Royal Marines and not a 'political protest.' [11][12] A related online government petition raised over 100,000 signatures calling for Sergeant Blackman's immediate release stating that the soldier had been condemned for defending his country. Within hours of the MOD's decision Michael Fallon, Minister for Defence, put out a government statement saying that the UK would maintain military operations in Afghanistan for the foreseeable future.

Murder

The incident took place in Helmand Province during Operation Herrick 14,[6] part of the British effort in the War in Afghanistan. Blackman, of 42 Commando, Royal Marines,[13] was part of a Marine patrol that came across an Afghan fighter in a field wounded by Apache Helicopter gunfire.[1][5][8] Blackman ordered the Afghan to be moved out of sight of the British Persistent Ground Surveillance System,[1] a camera on a balloon above British Forward Operating Base Shazad, Helmand, covering the area Blackman's patrol had been sent to.[9] Video evidence played at the Marines' subsequent trial shows some of the patrol dragging the man across the field and then kicking him.[14] Blackman ordered Marine B and C to stop administering first aid to the insurgent[1] and eventually shot the man in the chest with a 9 mm pistol,[8][14] saying: "Shuffle off this mortal coil, you cunt. It's nothing you wouldn't do to us."[5][10][14][15] He then added: "I just broke the Geneva Convention."[3][16]

Criminal trial and sentencing

After the 15 September incident, Blackman continued with his tour of duty, leaving Helmand Province in late October 2011.[6] 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 members strong,[3][15] instead of the five used for less serious cases.[17]

The verdict (8 November 2013)[1] and sentence (6 December 2013) were both delivered at the Military Court Centre in Bulford, Wiltshire.[2][3][7] The judge advocate (the civilian judge heading up the panel at a court-martial)[17] was Judge Advocate General Jeff Blackett.[5] The verdict carried with it a mandatory life sentence,[2][8] 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.[17] He was sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison.[7] 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.[9]

Anonymity orders

The Law Courts building, housing the High Court, which issued a ruling leading to three of the Marines involved being publicly named

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 issued anonymity orders for the Marine defendants due to the risk that, once named, the defendants would become targets for terrorists, because they had killed terrorists and disrupted their operations against the British people and the West.[1][6] The move had been opposed by elements of the UK media.[1] A lawyer for the Press Association argued that anonymity orders should not be issued in this case because, firstly, British military award recipients named in the media had not been previously targeted; and, secondly, that the names of those British service personnel investigated following the death of Baha Mousa had not been similarly protected.[18] The 2012 anonymity orders were upheld at the beginning of the trial in October 2013.[1] The order was lifted for Blackman (hitherto Marine A)[13] 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.[10] 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.[10][19] The anonymity of Marines D and E was upheld on 19 December "pending any further order by the Judge Advocate General".[19]

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,[14] but ruling that the full video itself not be released,[6][14][20] since doing so "would increase the threat of harm to British service personnel."[14][20] 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]

Reactions

The legal proceedings relating to the Marines garnered widespread British public and media attention.

Reacting to Marine A's guilty verdict, Royal Marines Brigadier Bill Dunham called the murder a "shocking and appalling aberration" that was "not consistent with the ethos, values and standards of the Royal Marines", but was nevertheless an "isolated incident".[2] General Sir Mike Jackson said he was "saddened" by the case.[2]

Marine A's guilty verdict led to a showing of public support for the Marine, with people creating social media groups and online petitions alternately asking that he be given a lenient sentence and calling for his release.[21]The Daily Telegraph supported one Change.org petition for leniency.[22]

When Blackman was sentenced to 10 years, General Sir Nick Houghton called his actions a "heinous crime" and commented that "murder is murder".[21] By contrast, Blackman's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Simon Chapman, 42 Commando, said in a letter read to the court that Blackman had had a "momentary ... lapse of judgment" and was "not a bad man", and added that Blackman had his "full support".[23] Blackman himself said in a statement that he was "devastated" and "very sorry for any damage caused to the Royal Marines".[7][15]

In September 2015 Colonel Oliver Lee, commanding officer of 45 Commando, resigned in protest of Blackman's treatment.[24]

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 i j 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 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ a b c d "Marine 'devastated' after prison sentence". The Daily Telegraph. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d R. v. Sergeant Alexander Wayne Blackman (Bulford Military Court 6 December 2013), Text.
  9. ^ a b c 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)
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Farmer, Ben (26 October 2015). "Troops warned not to attend Sgt Alexander Blackman rally". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  12. ^ "MoD bans military personnel from rally supporting jailed ex-Royal Marine". ITV News. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ a b c 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.
  16. ^ Terrill, Chris (9 April 2014). Marine 'A': Criminal or Casualty of War? (Television production). BBC One. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ R v Marines A – E (Court Martial 7 November 2012), Text.
  19. ^ a b R -v- Marines A, B, C, D & E (Court Martial Appeal Court 19 December 2013), Text.
  20. ^ a b R -v- Marines A, B and C (Bulford Military Court 28 October 2013), Text.
  21. ^ a b Farmer, Ben; Terrill, Chris (13 December 2013). "Marine A wife: It was war, my husband is not a murderer". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  22. ^ "Petition: leniency for Marine A". The Daily Telegraph. 11 November 2013. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ "Commanding officer's letter defends Sergeant Alexander Blackman", from BBC News
  24. ^ Strachan, Graeme (11 September 2015). "Former Arbroath CO quits Royal Marines, accusing military chiefs of Alexander Blackman betrayal". The Courier. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
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