How Mail launched f ight to overturn Marine’s conviction
THE campaign for justice for Alexander Blackman was launched yesterday with a Daily Mail investigation revealing how evidence was ‘deliberately withheld’ from his court martial.
Had the Royal Navy jury known the full facts, a lesser charge of manslaughter might have saved the Royal Marine from being convicted of f murder.
One of the most damning revelations was that a high-flying colonel resigned his commission in disgust at the treatment of the jailed serviceman.
Colonel Oliver Lee wanted to give crucial evidence that would support Blackman, but was refused by his chain of command. The youngest Royal Marine to hold the rank of colonel since the Second World War, Colonel Lee accused the hierarchy of deliberately withholding details of crucial operational failings leading up to the shooting incident, according to documents seen by the Mail.
When he resigned, he told his superiors: ‘Sgt Blackman’s investigation, court martial and sentencing authority remain unaware to this day of the wider context within which he was being commanded when he acted as he did. My attempts to bring proper transparency to this process were denied by the chain of command. Sgt Blackman was therefore sentenced by an authority blind to facts that offered serious mitigation.
‘The cause of this is a failure of moral courage by the chain of command.’
The Mail’s investigation has uncovered the full facts of the disastrous 011 tour of Helmand province. It reveals alleged key operational failings by commanders that meant Blackman and his troop were scandalously isolated, under-manned, underresourced and under daily Taliban assault – all directly affecting his state of mind at the time. This led to Blackman not receiving a fair trial, it is claimed.
Blackman was a highly experienced Marine destined for promotion when, on September 15, 011, he led a patrol to check on a Taliban gunman who had been mortally wounded trying to storm a British outpost. It was near the end of a horror-filled tour of Afghanistan in which seven fellow Marines had been killed and 40 injured by the Taliban.
The insurgent was found dying in a field, and was shot by Blackman, who told the court he believed that the man was already dead. He blamed the ‘moment of madness’ on the acute stresses of the battlefield.
In an online petition, more than 100,000 people demanded leniency for Blackman, who had served five tours of Iraq and Afghanistan with courage and distinction. A fighting fund has been established and supporters are invited to make a contribution towards his legal costs.