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IN 2011, HEADCAM footage captured the moment when Royal Marine Alexander Blackman shot dead an already-wounded Taliban fighter in the chest.
Two years later, Blackman became the first British soldier to be convicted of a murder since the Second World War.
“There you are. Shuffle off this mortal coil … It’s nothing you wouldn’t do to us,” Blackman, paraphrasing Shakespeare’s Hamlet, was recorded as saying on 15 September 2011.
The footage – captured on a camera mounted on the helmet of another soldier – showed what happened after the Royal Marine shot the Taliban fighter who had been seriously injured by fire from an Apache helicopter in the Helmand province.
“Obviously this doesn’t go anywhere, fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention,” he said to his fellow Royal Marines, in reference to international laws governing the treatment of prisoners of war.
Following his conviction, Blackman was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum period to be served of 10 years. This was reduced to eight years in 2014.
The marine has received support from comrades and members of the armed forces – past and present – as well as from the Daily Mail and novelist Frederick Forsyth.
Blackman was denied bail in December, pending his appeal, which is due to be heard by the court martial appeal court next week.
His case was referred there after a judgement from the Criminal Cases Review Commission found that there was new evidence related to Blackman’s mental state at the time and that an alternative verdict of unlawful act manslaughter was not considered in the original case.
A legal challenge by the Guardian and other media outlets called for footage from the head-cam showing the shooting to be made available.
Media outlets had been keen to secure more video recordings of the incident ahead of Blackman’s appeal next week and, while they haven’t secured all of the footage, they have been granted several clips showing the build up to the incident, reports the Guardian.
“Open justice”
The Guardian, BBC, ITN, Times Newspapers and Sky argued in court that in the interests of “open justice”, all the footage should be made available.
The Ministry of Defence and Blackman’s legal team objected to this view.
The three judges ruled that two clips – one allegedly showing the marines dragging the injured man across a field and another of Blackman shooting him in the chest – could not be released.
The footage that will not be released includes Blackman quoting Shakespeare and referencing the Geneva convention. The transcripts have already been made available.
However, footage will be made available of a group of marines watching as an Apache helicopter opens fire on the suspected Taliban fighter.
The marines are said to initially express their delight, which then turns to disgust when they realise the Taliban fighter is still alive. One marine asks why a different form of missile wasn’t used, while another man can be heard saying “shambles” in a separate clip.
The third clip shows the marines walking into the field to inspect the injured man.
It is not yet known when the footage will be released.
With reporting from AFP - © – AFP 2017
Forrest Gump must be closing in on Bill Gates at this rate
Not bad for Forest as his Apple letter was dated before Apple actually began selling any shares. Forest truely is special.
He could have been a venture capitalist who invested in the company before it went public. Would have made even more money that way.
My income tax would be lower if Apple actually paid their full 12 1/2℅ tax. Well, unless our gangsters in the Dail give it to our Rothschild/private bond holders.
The best thing about the new iphone coming up is it’ll kill off the Garth Brooks stories
What’s this about Garth Brooks?
Unless he gets one, then there could be the perfect storm. The Journal ‘towers’ would explode in orgy of ctrl-c ctrl-v, it would be like something from an Hieronymus Bosch painting
My revenue would not be near as good as Apples but it would be liveable if I didn’t pay taxes
Silly story! If you compared the profits of most successful companies towards their total staff and apply the figures through a per capita rating, you’d get similar results. All the same, maybe the might loan us a few bob…
Hush, John. It’s the start of Apple season on the Journal, expect blanket coverage, and incendiary articles, until the launch of the iPhone 6 in September.
Quarterly profit of 7.7 billion but it’s 600 million less than expected. Wouldn’t you just hate to be Apple right now.
Apples profits are based on semi slave labour – and not something to boast about .
Many are made in Chian at Foxconn factories
”On June 14th, a Foxconn worker jumped to his death from his apartment building in Chengdu, marking the 18th reported worker suicide at Foxconn factories in China in just over two years[1]. Many additional suicides may have gone unreported[2][3]. But these deaths and the focus on conditions at Foxconn reflect only a portion of the troubling conditions at Apple suppliers.
This investigation of other Apple suppliers in China reveals that serious work-related injuries and worker suicides are by no means isolated to just Foxconn but exist throughout Apple’s supply chain. For example, we found that at least two workers committed suicide at Flextronics[4]’ factories last year[5][6] (Ganzhou and Zhuhai) and that upwards of 59 workers were injured in explosions at Riteng’s Shanghai factory last December[7] (both are Apple’s suppliers). More broadly, this investigation of ten different Apple factories in China finds that harmful, damaging work environments characterized by illegally long hours for low levels of pay are widespread in Apple’s supply, with working conditions frequently worse at suppliers other than Foxconn. We also document for the first time the tremendous problems caused by the use of ‘labour dispatching’ by Apple suppliers in China…
This is Bangladesh all over again – low wages – long hours – and the author of this report has nerve to compare the profits with Bangladesh where their have been tragedies and many deaths as well – and again western suppliers take no responsibility – despite their claims – for the hours and wages that workers have to put up with
- Oh and this is the direction in which we are headed – the race to the bottom – Yes – great news .
We should be boycotting these products .
Lot of talk about boycotting Israeli products – seems an easy target – but the things we use ourselves ??
Number of suicides in Foxconn factories (according to your story above, not attributed anywhere): 18 in two years out of a total workforce of over 1 million. That gives a rate of 0.9 suicides per 100,000 per year.
Current suicide rate in China: 9.8 per 100,000
(Figures from 2009-2011. Source: http://www.economist.com/news/china/21605942-first-two-articles-chinas-suicide-rate-looks-effect-urbanisation-back)
This is old news and has been discussed in great depth many times over. Apple has been the focus of such stories, as its iPhone is the top selling smartphone brand. As a result, it has been at the forefront in trying to improve conditions for workers. It has been working with the Fair Labor Association (www.fairlabor.org) to audit its facilities in the China supply chain. There are still challenges to be met, and it isn’t just Apple who can solve them. It’s a problem that affects the entire consumer electronics industry. So if you buy an iPhone or a Samsung phone or whatever brand of smartphone, chances are it will have come through the Chinese supply chain.
@jim, spot on.
Statistics, statistics – not a very honest story, sorru
Tim Cook says he “can’t wait” to show Apple fanboys their new products in September.
If you believe that, I have a really cool limited edition invisible, non-tactile iPad for sale…
Does that figure include the amount they are tax dodging as well. Parasites.
apple, like many large american corporations, would, under American tax laws, be liable to taxation when they repatriate profits back into the USA. This is unfair as thru have already paid tax at source in the country where the profit was made. Why should they pay tax twice. They have a duty to their shareholders to maximise profit legitimately.
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