Alexander Blackman: How should crimes on the battlefield be handled?
The Interview
BBC
4.3 • 538 Ratings
🗓️ 22 January 2020
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised to take steps to protect military personnel from what he describes as vexatious legal claims. It’s a controversial stance as armed conflicts, from Northern Ireland to Iraq, have thrown up serious allegations of criminal wrongdoing by soldiers. Former Royal Marine Alexander Blackman was convicted of murder while serving in Afghanistan in 2011. He served three years in prison and, after a long legal struggle, his conviction was reduced to manslaughter. What does his case tell us about morality and accountability on the frontline?
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to a podcast from the BBC World Service. This is Hard Talk with me, Stephen Sacker. |
| 0:06.7 | Thanks for downloading this edition of the program. I do hope you enjoy it. |
| 0:12.4 | Welcome to Hard Talk on the BBC World Service with me, Stephen Sacker. My guest today was a proud professional soldier for much of his adult life. |
| 0:21.6 | Trained and battle-hardened in the Royal Marines, |
| 0:24.6 | Alexander Blackman served and saw combat in Northern Ireland, in Iraq, |
| 0:30.6 | and then as a sergeant in Afghanistan. |
| 0:33.6 | It was in the Taliban stronghold of Helmand in 2011 |
| 0:36.6 | that he made a fateful decision that ended his military career and saw him serve years in prison. |
| 0:44.9 | After a group of Taliban fighters were targeted by an Apache helicopter, Blackman and his men came across a grievously wounded insurgent. |
| 0:53.6 | Video evidence that came to light months after the |
| 0:56.3 | incident showed that Blackman shot and killed him. After a military trial, Sergeant Blackman was |
| 1:03.3 | convicted of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison. A high-profile campaign was then |
| 1:09.6 | launched to have the verdict and sentence overturned. |
| 1:13.6 | In 2017, after evidence of Blackman's mental state in the run-up to the killing was presented, |
| 1:19.9 | murder was reduced to manslaughter and he was freed. His case is one of many involving British, |
| 1:25.9 | US and other forces which raise profound questions |
| 1:29.7 | about what happens when frontline soldiers violate the laws and conventions of war. |
| 1:36.7 | Is it possible to stop justice and accountability becoming casualties of war? |
| 1:43.6 | Well, Alexander Blackman joins me now. Welcome to Hard Talk. |
| 1:47.4 | Thank you. It's pretty much now three years since you were released from prison. Have you |
| 1:53.6 | moved on or do you still ponder what happened to you every day of your life? I think I've moved on quite well. I don't like to |
| 2:02.6 | dwell too much on the past. I mean, it's quite a, you know, a significant event in my life, but, |
... |
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