Royal Marine to appeal against conviction for shooting Taliban fighter
Sergeant Alexander Blackman’s lawyers say his case has no legal precedent and will appeal against both sentence and verdict
A British marine jailed for at least 10 years after being found guilty of murdering an injured Taliban insurgent has launched a legal fight against his conviction and the length of his sentence.
Sergeant Alexander Blackman’s legal team is aiming to challenge both the guilty verdict by a court martial board and the minimum sentence it decided he should serve before being considered for parole.
Blackman, 39, of the Royal Marines, was found guilty in November of murdering the injured Afghan man in Helmand in 2011 by firing a pistol into his chest as he lay helpless after being wounded by helicopter fire.
He was caught by chance on a head camera worn by another of the marines on his patrol shooting the man and then telling him: “Shuffle off this mortal coil, you cunt. It’s nothing you wouldn’t do to us.”
During his court martial in Wiltshire, Blackman insisted that he had believed the man was already dead when he opened fire and he had shot his corpse in frustration towards the end of a hard tour during which close colleagues had been killed.
But the board that heard the case dismissed his defence and in December jailed him for life in a civilian prison and ordered that he be dismissed from the armed services.
The judge advocate general, Jeff Blackett, said he had to be dealt with severely to show the international community that battlefield crimes committed by UK troops would not be tolerated.
As soon as he was sentenced Blackman’s lawyers made it clear that he would appeal. They claimed that the unique nature of the case meant there was no legal precedent for the length of sentence. They have not revealed what the appeal against conviction will be based on.
Blackman had until Friday last week to ask for permission to appeal. The judicial office confirmed on Monday that this had been done. A single judge will consider Blackman’s arguments before deciding if his case should go to a full appeal court hearing. The process is likely to take up to three months.
Blackman’s wife, Claire Warner-Blackman, has claimed that his sentence was too severe and highlighted the mental tension he was under during the tour. She said he opened fire in a moment of “madness”.
Tens of thousands of people have signed petitions or joined social media campaigns supporting Blackman. Privately in military circles there is unease and frustration he was given what many consider a harsh sentence and huge sympathy for him and his family.
