British soldier who killed Taliban fighter divides UK

London: A British soldier who cited Shakespeare after killing an injured Taliban fighter could be home on bail in time for Christmas, three years after being found guilty of murder in a landmark conviction.

The case of Alexander Blackman, who was identified only as “Marine A” during his trial, has fascinated and divided public opinion in Britain.

On September 15, 2011, the 42-year-old Royal Marine shot a Taliban fighter who had been seriously injured by fire from an Apache helicopter in Helmand province.

“There you are. Shuffle off this mortal coil … It’s nothing you wouldn’t do to us,” said Mr Blackman paraphrasing Shake-speare’s Hamlet after shooting the fighter at close range with a 9mm pistol.

“Obviously this doesn’t go anywhere, fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention,” he said to his fellow Royal Marines, in reference to international law governing the treatment of prisoners of war.

Footage of the incident was captured on a camera mounted onto the helmet of one of the soldiers, and two years later Mr Blackman was convicted of murder by a court martial.

The case was the first time since the Second World War that a British soldier was convicted of a murder carried out on the battlefield.

“You treated that Afghan man with contempt and murdered him in cold blood,” judge Jeff Blackett told Mr Blackman in December 2013 as the soldier was given a life sentence with a 10-year minimum.

“By doing so you have betrayed your corps and all British service personnel who have served in Afghanistan, and you have tarnished their reputation,” Mr Blackett added.

The conviction was supported by Britain’s then chief of defence staff, Nicholas Houghton, who said: “Murder is murder, this is a heinous crime.”

But now Mr Blackman is making a bid for freedom, with a court hearing in London on Wednesday set to decide if he will be granted bail.

The soldier’s legal team ultimately aims to overturn the conviction and have the crime lessened to manslaughter citing post-traumatic disorder.
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