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2011 Helmand Province killing

Map of Afghanistan with Helmand highlighted

The 2011 Helmand Province killing was the manslaughter of a wounded Taliban 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]

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]

  1. ^ "Royal Marine Alexander Blackman gets seven years for Taliban killing". BBC News. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference BAILII was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC guilty was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference BBC named was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Independent jailed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Telegraph sentenced long was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Telegraph sentenced was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference R v Blackman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference BAILII 2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  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.

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