2011 Helmand Province killing

Last updated

Map of Afghanistan with Helmand highlighted Helmand in Afghanistan.svg
Map of Afghanistan with Helmand highlighted

The 2011 Helmand Province killing was the manslaughter of a woundedTaliban insurgent by Alexander Blackman, which occurred on 15 September 2011. [1] [2] Three Royal Marines, known during their trial as Marines A, B, and C, were anonymously tried by court martial. On 8 November 2013, [2] [3] [4] Marines B and C were acquitted, [2] [5] but Blackman (Marine A) was initially found guilty of murder of the Afghan insurgent, [2] in contravention of section 42 of the Armed Forces Act 2006. [4] This made him the first British soldier to be convicted of a battlefield murder whilst serving abroad since the Second World War. [6]

Contents

On 6 December 2013, Blackman was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of ten years, [7] and dismissed with disgrace from the Royal Marines. [8] On 22 May 2014, the Courts Martial Appeal Court reduced his minimum term to eight years. [9]

This led to a campaign [10] by the Armed Forces community to have his conviction overturned, led by Claire Blackman and the MP for South Dorset, Richard Drax. [11] During the campaign to free him, the Criminal Cases Review Commission concluded that Alexander Blackman's defence team fell "way below the standard expected". [12] At the subsequent appeal hearing in 2017, the conviction was overturned and the hearing stated that "At the time of the killing the patrol remained under threat from other insurgents ... Given his prior exemplary conduct, we have concluded that it was the combination of the stressors, the other matters to which we have referred and his adjustment disorder that substantially impaired his ability to form a rational judgment." [13]

In March 2017, the conviction for murder was overturned and reduced to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Blackman was released from prison on 28 April 2017 but his dismissal from the Marines remains in place. [14]

Incident

The incident took place in Helmand Province during Operation Herrick 14, [15] part of the British effort in the War in Afghanistan. Blackman, of J company, 42 Commando, Royal Marines, [16] was part of a Marine patrol that came across an Afghan fighter in a field wounded by Apache helicopter gunfire. [2] [6] [8] Blackman ordered the Afghan to be moved out of sight of the Kestrel surveillance system, [2] 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. [17] Blackman ordered Marine B and C to stop administering first aid to the insurgent [2] and eventually shot the man in the chest with a 9 mm pistol, [8] [17] saying: "Shuffle off this mortal coil, you cunt. It's nothing you wouldn't do to us." [6] [18] [17] [19] He then added: "I just broke the Geneva Convention." [4] [20]

Criminal trial, appeals, and sentencing

After the 15 September incident, Blackman continued with his tour of duty, leaving Helmand Province in late October 2011. [15] 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. [2] The lead came after British civilian police discovered suspicious video footage on a serviceman's laptop. [3] Marines D and E had charges against them dropped on 5 February 2013. [2] Marines A, B and C first appeared in court in August 2013, where they entered a not guilty plea. [3] The military trial of Marines A, B and C, protected from view in court behind a screen because of an anonymity order, [3] began on 23 October 2013 [2] and lasted two weeks. [3] Their Court Martial board (equivalent to a jury in the civilian justice system) [2] was seven members strong, [4] [19] instead of the five used for less serious cases. [21]

The verdict (8 November 2013) [2] and sentence (6 December 2013) were both delivered at the Military Court Centre in Bulford, Wiltshire. [3] [4] [7] The judge advocate (the civilian judge heading the panel at a court martial) [21] was Judge Advocate General Jeff Blackett. [6] The verdict carried with it a mandatory life sentence, [3] [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. [21] 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]

In December 2016 Blackman was denied bail pending a second appeal due to be heard by the Court Martial Appeal Court (CMAC). [22] On 15 March 2017, the CMAC reduced the conviction to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. [23] UK newspaper The Guardian reported that, "Outside court Blackman's wife, Claire, who has led the campaign to free the former sergeant, said she was delighted by the result saying it 'much better reflected the circumstances that [her] husband found himself in during that terrible tour of Afghanistan'." [24]

On 28 March 2017, Blackman was given a 7-year sentence for manslaughter with diminished responsibility, but was given credit for time served, and was freed on 28 April 2017. [1] [25]

Anonymity orders

The Law Courts building, housing the High Court, which issued a ruling leading to three of the Marines involved being publicly named London Royal Courts of Justice 501523 h000008.jpg
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. [2] [15] The move had been opposed by elements of the UK media. [2] A lawyer for the Press Association argued that anonymity orders should not be issued in this case because British military award recipients named in the media had not been previously targeted; and that the names of those British service personnel investigated following the death of Baha Mousa had not been similarly protected. [26] The 2012 anonymity orders were upheld at the beginning of the trial in October 2013. [2]

On 5 December 2013, [4] 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. [15] [16] 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. [18] 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. [18] [27] The anonymity of Marines D and E was upheld on 19 December "pending any further order by the Judge Advocate General". [27]

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, [17] but ruling that the full video itself not be released, [15] [17] [28] since doing so "would increase the threat of harm to British service personnel." [17] [28] 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. [2] 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. [2]

Reactions

The legal proceedings relating to the Marines received widespread public and media attention in the UK.

Reacting to Blackman'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". [3] General Sir Mike Jackson said he was "saddened" by the case. [3]

Blackman's guilty verdict led to a showing of public support for the Marine, with people creating social media groups and online petitions asking that he be given a lenient sentence or calling for his release. [29] The Daily Telegraph supported one Change.org petition for leniency. [30]

When Blackman was sentenced to life imprisonment with a tariff of 10 years, General Sir Nick Houghton called his actions a "heinous crime" and commented that "murder is murder". [29] 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". [31] Blackman himself said in a statement that he was "devastated" and "very sorry for any damage caused to the Royal Marines". [7] [19]

In November 2013, Colonel Oliver Lee OBE, commanding officer of 45 Commando during Operation Herrick 14, resigned in protest at the narrowness of Blackman's court martial and his being prevented from giving evidence to it. [32] Lee went on to give evidence at the Court Martial Appeal Court in 2017 where Blackman's conviction was reduced from murder to manslaughter. [33]

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, rather, the event was "a show of support to one of our fellow Royal Marines and not a 'political protest'". [34] [35] A related online petition to the government raised over 100,000 signatures calling for 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.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Calley</span> American mass murderer at My Lai (born 1943)

William Laws Calley Jr. is a former United States Army officer who was convicted by court-martial for the murder of 22 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre on March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War. Calley was released to house arrest under orders by President Richard Nixon three days after his conviction. A new trial was ordered by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit but that ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court. Calley served three years of house arrest for the murders. Public opinion at the time about Calley was divided. Since his dismissal from the U.S. Army and release from prison, Calley has avoided public attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fragging</span> Deliberate killing or attempted killing of a soldier by a fellow soldier

Fragging is the deliberate or attempted killing of a soldier, usually a superior, by a fellow soldier. U.S. military personnel coined the word during the Vietnam War, when such killings were most often committed or attempted with a fragmentation grenade, to make it appear that the killing was accidental or during combat with the enemy. The term fragging now encompasses any deliberate killing of military colleagues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courts-martial of the United States</span> Trials conducted by the U.S. military

Courts-martial of the United States are trials conducted by the U.S. military or by state militaries. Most commonly, courts-martial are convened to try members of the U.S. military for violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). They can also be convened for other purposes, including military tribunals and the enforcement of martial law in an occupied territory. Federal courts-martial are governed by the rules of procedure and evidence laid out in the Manual for Courts-Martial, which contains the Rules for Courts-Martial (RCM), Military Rules of Evidence, and other guidance. State courts-martial are governed according to the laws of the state concerned. The American Bar Association has issued a Model State Code of Military Justice, which has influenced the relevant laws and procedures in some states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homicide Act 1957</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Homicide Act 1957 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was enacted as a partial reform of the common law offence of murder in English law by abolishing the doctrine of constructive malice, reforming the partial defence of provocation, and by introducing the partial defences of diminished responsibility and suicide pact. It restricted the use of the death penalty for murder.

Murder is an offence under the common law legal system of England and Wales. It is considered the most serious form of homicide, in which one person kills another with the intention to unlawfully cause either death or serious injury. The element of intentionality was originally termed malice aforethought, although it required neither malice nor premeditation. Baker, chapter 14 states that many killings done with a high degree of subjective recklessness were treated as murder from the 12th century right through until the 1974 decision in DPP v Hyam.

The Hamdania incident refers to the alleged kidnapping and subsequent murder of an Iraqi man by United States Marines on April 26, 2006, in Al Hamdania, a small village west of Baghdad near Abu Ghraib. An investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service resulted in charges of murder, kidnapping, housebreaking, larceny, Obstruction of Justice and conspiracy associated with the alleged coverup of the incident. They were forced to drop many charges on the defendants. The defendants are seven Marines and a Navy Corpsman. As of February 2007, five of the defendants have negotiated pleas to lesser charges of kidnapping and conspiracy, or less, and have agreed to testify in these trials. Additional Marines from the same battalion faced lesser charges of assault related to the use of physical force during interrogations of suspected insurgents. Those charges were dropped.

Scott L. Rolle is a Circuit Court Judge in Frederick County, Maryland. In a close election in late 2014, he was the first lawyer to defeat a sitting judge in Frederick County by way of election in modern history. From 1995 to 2007 Rolle was the State's Attorney for Frederick County, Maryland. He served three consecutive terms in that position. He is also an actor who co-starred on the television series Brad Meltzer's Decoded that was aired on the History Channel with 23 episodes spanning two seasons. He also landed a role on Lifetime Discovery Channel's "Twisted Fate", the independent films "Substance", "Money Matters" along with other film, television and stage acting credits. Rolle retired after 21 years as a lieutenant colonel in the US Army Reserves. He served in the 154th Legal Support Detachment, and the 2nd Legal Operations Detachment located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Rolle was mobilized and deployed to Afghanistan from October 2018 through April 2019 serving as the USFOR-A Chief Investigator for Gross Violations of Human Rights. Upon completion of his tour of duty, he was awarded the Joint Commendation Medal with Combat "C" device, NATO non-article 5 medal, and the Afghanistan Campaign medal with bronze service star.

Joji Obara, born Kim Sung-jong is a Korean-Japanese serial rapist who raped between 150 and 400 women. He was charged with drugging, raping and killing a British woman, Lucie Blackman, in July 2000, the rape and manslaughter of an Australian woman, Carita Ridgway, and the rape of eight other women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowe Bergdahl</span> American soldier, Taliban captive 2009 to 2014

Beaudry Robert "Bowe" Bergdahl is a former United States Army soldier who was held captive from 2009 to 2014 by the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maywand District murders</span> Murders of Afghan civilians by U.S. Army soldiers from June 2009–June 2010

The Maywand District murders were the thrill killings of at least three Afghan civilians perpetrated by a group of U.S. Army soldiers from January to May 2010, during the War in Afghanistan. The soldiers, who referred to themselves as the "Kill Team", were members of the 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, and 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. They were based at FOB Ramrod in Maiwand, in Kandahar Province of Afghanistan.

Sir Brian Henry Leveson is a retired English judge who served as the President of the Queen's Bench Division and Head of Criminal Justice.

Jeffrey Blackett is a British former judge and Royal Navy officer with the rank of Commodore. He was Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces from 2004 to 2020 and among the cases over which he presided was that of "Marine A". Blackett was criticised by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) for sentencing Sgt Alexander Blackman RM to a life sentence for murder, as he failed to give the board the option to pass a lesser sentence of manslaughter. According to the report, the CCRC, which investigates miscarriages of justice, said Judge Blackett was guilty of a "material irregularity" in the original trial, due to an "apparent failure to recognise the position regarding manslaughter during the trial and to direct the board appropriately". Subsequently the Court Martial Appeal Court rejected any criticism of Blackett. They said: "We could see no basis for any criticism of the conduct of the Court Martial by the Judge Advocate General. He left the issues which had been raised by the prosecution and the defence during the hearing of the Court Martial to the Board in an entirely fair and proper manner." Alexander Blackman's murder conviction was eventually quashed in 2017 after a successful appeal.

Danny Harold Nightingale is a British soldier from Crewe. He came to public attention in 2012 after he was court-martialled for illegal possession of a pistol and ammunition.

Clint Allen Lorance is a former United States Army officer who is known for having been convicted and pardoned for war crimes.

Sir Robin Godfrey Spencer, is a former judge of the High Court of England and Wales.

Elizabeth Lillian Fullerton is an Australian lawyer, specialising in criminal law, who has been a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales since February 2007.

Samuel Giles William Alexander was a Royal Marine whose death by an improvised explosive device (IED) while on a patrol in 2011 during the War in Afghanistan received 3/4 front page as part of cover story questioning the Government's foreign policy by his journalist father in The Independent, which had taken a strong stance against parts of the United Kingdom's involvement in the War on Terror. Alexander's Military Cross awarded on previous tour of duty contributed to extensive national media coverage after the Ministry of Defence announcement of his and his patrol leader's deaths during Operation Herrick in Helmand Province in 2011. Their deaths were also later included in speech by Richard Drax in the House of Commons and extensively referenced by national media as mitigating circumstances in connection with the 2013 conviction of Sgt. Alexander Blackman for murder of an injured Afghan combatant and his subsequent reduced sentence in 2017 of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

War crimes in Afghanistan covers the period of conflict from 1979 to the present. Starting with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, 40 years of civil war in various forms has wracked Afghanistan. War crimes have been committed by all sides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver A. Lee</span> Former Royal Marines officer

Colonel Oliver Andrew Lee, is a former senior Royal Marines officer and subsequently chief executive.

References

  1. 1 2 "Royal Marine Alexander Blackman gets seven years for Taliban killing". BBC News. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Marines A & Ors v Guardian News and Media & Other Media [2013] EWCA Crim 2367 (5 December 2013), Court Martial Appeal Court (England and Wales)
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Littlewood, Alex (8 November 2013). "Marine guilty of Afghanistan murder". BBC News. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. 1 2 3 4 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.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Marine 'devastated' after prison sentence". The Daily Telegraph . 6 December 2013. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 4 R. v. Sergeant Alexander Wayne Blackman(Bulford Military Court6 December 2013), Text.
  9. 1 2 3 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. ↑ "Protest over Royal Marine's Afghanistan murder conviction". BBC News. 28 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Freeing Sergeant Alexander Blackman".
  12. ↑ "Jailed marine Alexander Blackman's defence team 'fell below standard required', official report concludes". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 29 November 2021.
  13. ↑ "Judges quash UK marine Alexander Blackman's murder conviction". TheGuardian.com . 15 March 2017.
  14. ↑ Press Association: "Marine A: Alexander Blackman released from prison", The Guardian , 28 April 2017.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 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.
  16. 1 2 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.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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.
  18. 1 2 3 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.
  19. 1 2 3 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.
  20. ↑ Terrill, Chris (9 April 2014). Marine 'A': Criminal or Casualty of War? (Television production). BBC One . Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  21. 1 2 3 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.
  22. ↑ "Murder appeal ex-marine Alexander Blackman refused bail". BBC News . 21 December 2016. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  23. ↑ "Marine Alexander Blackman conviction reduced to manslaughter". BBC News . 15 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  24. ↑ Morris, Steven (15 March 2017). "Judges quash UK marine Alexander Blackman's murder conviction". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  25. ↑ "Marine A, who killed wounded Taliban fighter, released from prison". The Guardian . 28 April 2017.
  26. ↑ R v Marines A – E(Court Martial 7 November 2012), Text.
  27. 1 2 R -v- Marines A, B, C, D & E(Court Martial Appeal Court 19 December 2013), Text.
  28. 1 2 R -v- Marines A, B and C(Bulford Military Court28 October 2013), Text.
  29. 1 2 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.
  30. ↑ "Petition: leniency for Marine A". The Daily Telegraph . 11 November 2013. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  31. ↑ "Commanding officer's letter defends Sergeant Alexander Blackman". BBC News. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  32. ↑ Strachan, Graeme (11 September 2015). "Former Arbroath CO quits Royal Marines, accusing military chiefs of Alexander Blackman betrayal". The Courier . Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  33. ↑ Akam, Simon (3 April 2021). "War, justice and the real story behind 'Marine A'". GQ . Archived from the original on 3 April 2021.
  34. ↑ Farmer, Ben (26 October 2015). "Troops warned not to attend Sgt Alexander Blackman rally". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  35. ↑ "MoD bans military personnel from rally supporting jailed ex-Royal Marine". ITV News. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.