Sunday 10 November 2013

British Marine Charged with Murder During Military Skirmish


Legal experts are discussing the legal and moral issues behind the infamous verdict against an unnamed British marine who was convicted for murdering a Taliban fighter in Helmand in September 2011. This is the first UK case involving a serviceman convicted of murder in action.


Experts said that the convict was wrongly placed given that it did not happen in a civil situation, such as a homicide or anywhere a violent conflict cannot rise at any moment. They also said government-sanctioned killing covered the person killed by the marine because the Taliban is identified as the enemy.

Legal experts against the decision said that it was unfair to give such a verdict to the British marine given that everyone can react in the same manner as he did. Exhilaration and other psychological factors will affect the decision of any man in the battlefield, even if battle-hardened or not.

The British marine had an injured Jihadi along with two other soldiers. With cameras fixed on observation balloons, the three men pretend to give medical care to the Jihadi, then executed the man with a shot to the chest. The marine was aware of what he has done breaking the Geneva Convention to spare soldiers unable to fight, but it is highly possible that the shot to the chest was an act of mercy

Because of the “right to life” law, which also covers military action, the marine is given the sentence of murder. The right to life law discusses the importance of treating combatants with equal respect.
Experts said that with all the legalities coming into the British military, it is highly possible that legal paranoia and paralysis will make it less sufficient.