Royal Marine Commando Charged with Murder

m551sheridan

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Five UK Royal Marines charged with murder

Five Royal Marines have been charged with murder in connection with an incident in Afghanistan in 2011, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

Two marines were detained by Royal Military Police (RMP) over the weekend, bringing the total number of arrests to nine.

Four of those held have been released without charge.

An MoD spokesperson said those charged with murder "remain in custody pending court proceedings".

It is believed to be the first time UK servicemen have been arrested and charged with such charges during the Afghanistan conflict.

The charges are related to an incident in Afghanistan last year, when Royal Marine 3 Commando Brigade was based in Helmand.

The MoD previously said the incident followed an "engagement with an insurgent" and no civilians were involved.

Read full report at The BBC
 
Bloody stinks!! I feel sorry for my former colleagues for having to investigate this, if it had been the other way round, nothing would be done. The guy was a bloody insurgent FFS!!! :evil:
 
Bloody stinks!! I feel sorry for my former colleagues for having to investigate this, if it had been the other way round, nothing would be done. The guy was a bloody insurgent FFS!!! :evil:
yepper, agree..... when in the trench, the law of the trench is what it is... get the one who ratted them out.
 
I believe a video recording was made by one of the patrol and put on youtube, how much is true I'm not sure, I don't have any contacts left in the RMP as everyone I served with has retired now, that's getting old for you. :(
 
I believe a video recording was made by one of the patrol and put on youtube, how much is true I'm not sure, I don't have any contacts left in the RMP as everyone I served with has retired now, that's getting old for you. :(
that there is just plain stupid then.......... maybe they deserve what comes.
 
Probably best not to speculate too much ;)

yepper, agree..... when in the trench, the law of the trench is what it is... get the one who ratted them out.

With the greatest of respect and no offence intended, you can't just go around shooting everything and anyone as per the US military on occasions.

The rules of engagement (RoE) are quite clear. It doesn't mean they are necessarily correct and that you agree with them, but you must adhere to them regardless.

/RM Officer mode ;)

I believe a video recording was made by one of the patrol and put on youtube, how much is true I'm not sure, I don't have any contacts left in the RMP as everyone I served with has retired now, that's getting old for you. :(

It appears that the laptop belonging to a RM was "seized" by civi police who were "investigating an unrelated incident....". Some footage was discovered and the RMP were then involved. The footage in question was recorded via head cam/helmet cam. I believe the footage shows an injured insurgent on the floor and the RM's discussing how to deal with him, before the footage ends and the insurgent subsequently dies.

This is just my opinion, but if you've done something "silly" then storing the evidence of it isn't particularly clever.

But thats RoE for you. In the heat of battle they can be interpreted differently. I hope the RM's aren't hung out to dry by "upstairs"....
 
With the greatest of respect and no offence intended, you can't just go around shooting everything and anyone as per the US military on occasions.

The rules of engagement (RoE) are quite clear. It doesn't mean they are necessarily correct and that you agree with them, but you must adhere to them regardless.

/RM Officer mode ;)
I know, and you are 10,000% correct but, as we visited this topic before, when you've just been lit up, have one of the guys who did it and you want to know where his buddies ran of to, to be smug with a *FU*, give me a cigarette and a can of *chicken and noodles* just might get you what you did not suspect. As you well know, it happens at times, especially when you know what they will do to your buddies........ you become like your enemy sometimes.
 
But thats RoE for you. In the heat of battle they can be interpreted differently. I hope the RM's aren't hung out to dry by "upstairs"....

My info was in the right area although not 100% corrrct. That's usually enough for HMF to try and stitch someone up. :(
 
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I know, and you are 10,000% correct but, as we visited this topic before, when you've just been lit up, have one of the guys who did it and you want to know where his buddies ran of to, to be smug with a *FU*, give me a cigarette and a can of *chicken and noodles* just might get you what you did not suspect. As you well know, it happens at times, especially when you know what they will do to your buddies........ you become like your enemy sometimes.

Agreed.

That's war for you. Hence why such arrests and charges are an emotive subject.
 
Can any of you remember a Argentine POW was burning alive on the Falkland Islands and either a Para of a RM shot him dead as a mercy killing, he was then charged with murder by civi plod. Can anyone remember what happened in the end, was he arrested and charged?
 
Can any of you remember a Argentine POW was burning alive on the Falkland Islands and either a Para of a RM shot him dead as a mercy killing, he was then charged with murder by civi plod. Can anyone remember what happened in the end, was he arrested and charged?
On 2 June 1982 approximately 1,200 Argentine POWs were being detained in a sheep shed at Goose Green on East Falkland Island. Concerned about piles of artillery ammunition near the shed, the prisoners asked for and obtained permission to move it a safe distance away from them. Unfortunately, as several of them did so, some of the ammunition exploded, possibly due to booby traps set earlier by Argentine soldiers to kill British troops. A British medic at the scene, Sergeant Fowler, assessed one of the stillburning men to be fatally injured and possibly suffering horribly, and shot him to end his misery. A subsequent military inquiry concluded that no war crime had been committed. The other Argentines wounded in the explosion and fire were treated and evacuated; one of them had to have both legs amputated, and died on the operating table.​

But there is no such thing as "mercy killing." Mission requirements may keep you from rendering immediate aid to a fallen enemy but in no way are we allowed to make a decision to end the life of an enemy that is no longer able to defend himself due to wounds. If you come across an enemy that is almost dead and mission requirements do not allow you to help him you move on and complete the mission. After completion of the mission if you can return to him and render aid do so. At that point he is a POW and has all the rights as one. Soldiers who violate such rules by killing wounded enemy combatants can be prosecuted for murder or other forms of homicide.

The law is clear: simply stated, no soldier or physician today is legally authorized intentionally to kill any wounded enemies who no longer pose an immediate threat to them (or their own gravely wounded comrades)​

The Geneva Conventions strictly prohibit killing enemy combatants who are rendered hors de combat by their wounds: for example, the first Geneva Convention of 1949 stipulates in chapter 2, article 12:​

Members of the armed forces … who are wounded or sick, shall be respected and protected in all circumstances. They shall be treated humanely and cared for by the Party to the conflict in whose power they may be…. Any attempts upon their lives, or violence to their persons, shall be strictly prohibited…; they shall not willfully be left without medical assistance and care, nor shall conditions exposing them to contagion or infection be created. Only urgent medical reasons will authorize priority in the order of treatment to be administered…. The Party to the conflict which is compelled to abandon wounded or sick to the enemy shall, as far as military considerations permit, leave with them a part of its medical personnel and material to assist in their care.

However, situations still arise occasionally today — and could occur with greater frequency in some future wars— in which the wonders of modern military medicine are unable to reach all seriously wounded combatants in time to save them or sufficiently palliate their suffering. Such situations engender difficult ethical dilemmas for soldiers witnessing their miserable condition.
 
On 2 June 1982 approximately 1,200 Argentine POWs were being detained in a sheep shed at Goose Green on East Falkland Island. Concerned about piles of artillery ammunition near the shed, the prisoners asked for and obtained permission to move it a safe distance away from them. Unfortunately, as several of them did so, some of the ammunition exploded, possibly due to booby traps set earlier by Argentine soldiers to kill British troops. A British medic at the scene, Sergeant Fowler, assessed one of the stillburning men to be fatally injured and possibly suffering horribly, and shot him to end his misery. A subsequent military inquiry concluded that no war crime had been committed. The other Argentines wounded in the explosion and fire were treated and evacuated; one of them had to have both legs amputated, and died on the operating table.​

I heard that UK civi plod had stepped in and was going to charge the bloke with murder. I don't know what the outcome was.
 
Okay I can understand the need for head cams by why down load it on to his personal PC where it was found, also knowing he had head cam why wasn't he looking at the sky when this was going on.
 
Okay I can understand the need for head cams by why down load it on to his personal PC where it was found, also knowing he had head cam why wasn't he looking at the sky when this was going on.

Indeed, I'm in agreement with you!

Hopefully he had permission from the MOD to keep and download the footage...

Could have switched off the cam earlier....
 
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