Royal Marine Alexander Blackman faces life sentence for Taliban murder

Soldier had fought for a year to keep identity hidden because he argued there was a risk of revenge attacks on his family

A Royal Marine convicted of murdering a Taliban prisoner in Afghanistan will face life imprisonment when he is sentenced on Friday, 24 hours after losing a year-long battle to protect his anonymity.

Lawyers for the marine, who can now be named as Alexander Wayne Blackman, 39, will argue that his excellent service record and the pressure he was under when he opened fire on an injured insurgent should be taken into consideration when setting the minimum term he will face.

Arrangements are already under way to offer him protection in the civilian prison he will serve his sentence in because of the high profile and sensitive nature of his offence. Measures have also been taken to protect his wife and family from revenge attacks.

Blackman, an experienced and hugely respected member of 42 Commando, has argued for a year that he and his relatives could become targets of Islamist extremists if his identify was known.

But three high court judges, including the lord chief justice, Lord Thomas, have said that he could be named after media organisations, including the Guardian, argued that his identity should be revealed in the interest of open justice.

Blackman was convicted last month of shooting dead a wounded insurgent in Helmand in 2011, becoming the first British serviceman since at least the second world war to be convicted of murder during an overseas deployment.

His court martial in Bulford, Wiltshire, was shown a damning video of him firing his pistol into the chest of the prisoner, who had been badly wounded in a helicopter strike. He was heard telling the dying man: “There you are, shuffle off this mortal coil, you cunt. It’s nothing you wouldn’t do to us.”

The lifting of the anonymity order 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 11 September, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US, Blackman – known as Al – had been promoted to lance corporal.

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 remove Saddam Hussein and had many narrow escapes, including one incident in which a vehicle he was in was badly damaged by a grenade. He completed an exemplary first tour of Afghanistan.

Blackman’s final tour began when he was deployed to Helmand in March 2011 to help build schools, hospitals, roads and prepare Afghan forces for when they take full responsibility for security. It was also a time of fierce fighting with well-armed and motivated insurgents.

By then a sergeant, he was considered a safe pair of hands by his superiors, a physically imposing marine who led from the front.

In May 2011, Blackman was devastated when a roadside bomb claimed the …read more