A ROYAL Marine
locked up for life after murdering an injured Afghan fighter has lost
his court battle to be freed in time for Christmas.
Sergeant Alexander Blackman, 42, was
jailed for life with a minimum of ten years for shooting a captive Taliban insurgent who had been wounded in an attack on a British base in Afghanistan in 2011. ...
It follows an announcement from the Criminal Cases Review Commission
(CCRC), the independent body that investigates possible miscarriages of
justice, of its decision to refer Blackman's conviction and sentence to
the court for review.
Blackman, of Taunton in Somerset, was convicted in November 2013 by a
court martial in Bulford, Wiltshire, and sentenced to life with a
minimum term of 10 years.
As well as the life sentence, Blackman – who denied murder – was
”dismissed with disgrace” from the Royal Marines after he had served
with distinction for 15 years, including tours of Iraq, Afghanistan and
Northern Ireland. ...
'Shuffle off this mortal coil you c***. It’s nothing you wouldn’t do to us.'
Canal Milmo Friday 18 September 2015
On 15 September 2011, Sergeant Alexander Blackman pointed his
9mm pistol at the chest of a wounded Taliban fighter and pulled the
trigger with the words: “Shuffle off this mortal coil you c***. It’s
nothing you wouldn’t do to us.”
Unbeknown to the Royal Marine, his
actions were recorded on the helmet-mounted camera of a comrade. In
2013, he was convicted by a court martial of murdering the unarmed
insurgent - the first such conviction of a serving British soldier since
the Second World War.
That this hugely experienced serviceman’s
actions resulted in the killing of a prisoner is uncontested. But
thereafter opinions about the nature of his crime, for which he is
serving a minimum term of eight years’ imprisonment, diverge sharply.
To
his supporters, Blackman is a “political scapegoat” whose lapse of
judgment under pressures that would have crippled the steeliest warrior
is being used to cover up the failings of Britain’s top brass in
Afghanistan. ...
-go to links-
No comments:
Post a Comment