Marine who murdered Taliban prisoner loses fight to remain anonymous

Sergeant Alexander Blackman, a 39-year-old who has been in the marines since his 20s, loses fight to remain anonymous

The Royal Marine convicted of murdering a Taliban prisoner in Afghanistan can finally be named after he lost his year-long fight to remain anonymous.

He is Sergeant Alexander Wayne Blackman, a 39-year-old married man from the south of England who has been in the marines since his mid-20s and has served with distinction in Northern Ireland and Iraq.

Blackman, a member of 42 Commando, faces life imprisonment in a civilian jail when he is sentenced on Friday after becoming the first British serviceman since at least the second world war to be convicted of murder during an overseas deployment.

For more than 12 months Blackman has only been referred to as Marine A after the judge advocate general, Jeff Blackett, who oversees the court martial system, ruled that he would become a terrorist target if his identity was known.

But after a prolonged legal challenge by the Guardian and other media organisations, three of the most senior judges in the country, including the lord chief justice, Lord Thomas, have agreed that, in the interests of open justice, he should be named.

It means that the full details of Blackman’s career can be revealed for the first time.

After joining the corps 15 years ago his first taste of active service came in Northern Ireland. He quickly impressed and by the time of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US, Blackman – known as Al – had been promoted to lance corporal and was in Oman taking part in Operation Swift Sword II, the largest single deployment of UK forces since the Gulf war. The presence of such a large force gave allied commanders a huge head-start as the fighting in Afghanistan got under way.

Over the next 10 years Blackman completed three tours of Iraq and two of Afghanistan. He took part in fierce fighting in Iraq as British forces helped overthrow Saddam Hussein and had many narrow escapes including one incident in which a vehicle he was in was badly damaged in a grenade attack. He completed an exemplary first tour of Afghanistan.

Blackman’s final tour began when he was deployed to Helmand in March 2011 as part of Operation Herrick 14 – the name for the October 2011 – April 2012 phase of the British operation in Afghanistan – to help build schools, hospitals, roads and prepare Afghan forces for when they take full responsibility for security.

By then a sergeant, he was considered a safe pair of hands by his superiors, a physically imposing marine who always led from the front. During the court martial he said his approach was to keep things “as relaxed as possible” and claimed he wasn’t a “shouty man”.

He was put in a charge of a command post called Omar. The tour began quietly and Blackman was credited with building good relations with the local population. He was friendly with a local mullah who …read more