Monday 9 December 2013

UK Royal Marine Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Murdering Insurgent


The death of a wounded Taliban insurgent at the hands of a UK Royal Marine sergeant during his overseas deployment had left the Marine with life imprisonment for his crime. Evidence against Seargeant Alexander Blackman was a video that showed him and four other marines debating whether to give the Taliban fighter medical care. Blackman was seen shooting the Taliban fighter.
Blackman’s identity was protected by privacy until the Court Martial Appeal Court lifted the anonymity order. According to Judge Advocate General Blackett said that war and the battlefield may not be the places for peace and humanitarian activities, but if the British Armed Forces do not comply with humanitarian law and the laws of armed conflict, they are on the same level as their enemies.

Alexander Blackman is the first individual to be convicted of a murder during overseas deployment since World War II. Blackman is eligible for parole after serving a minimum of 10 years imprisonment.

In the battlefield, government soldiers are expected to act under the jurisdiction of the rules of engagement.
This means to disarm or disable at all costs their enemy, but mercy and tolerance be shown during engagement. Mercy killings, executions and looting breaks the rules of engagement in the battlefield. 


Source