The former commander of British forces in Afghanistan has called for an appeal against the life sentence given to a Royal Marine.
Sergeant Alexander Blackman, 39, was told he would serve at least a decade behind bars after being found guilty of shooting a badly injured captive in the chest, following an attack on a British base in
Helmand Province in September 2011.
The court martial, which cleared two of his comrades, said Blackman’s actions could provoke the enemy into brutal reprisals.
But last night outrage was growing with more than 50,000 people backing him across various Facebook pages, following his sentencing on Friday.
Now Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan and former chairman of the COBRA intelligence committee, claims an appeal must be launched against the “stiff” sentence.
He said: “I think his lawyers should appeal it without a shadow of a doubt and I think there is a substantial weight of public opinion behind him.”
Sergeant Blackman from Taunton, Somerset, completed six tours of Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland with the Marines.
His barrister Anthony Berry QC told the court martial he had been suffering poor sleep, fatigue, grief from the death of his dad and feelings of paranoia he would be shot.
Colonel Kemp accused the court martial of failing to reflect the immense pressure he was under.
He said: “It is wrong that we send a man to fight for his country in Afghanistan, we put him in that situation where he is under immense pressure, he has a constant threat to his life and he sees his mates killed.
“We should take some responsibility for putting him in that position.”
An MOD spokesman said: “We respect the authority and decision of the court, and it would be inappropriate of us to comment on the sentence.”
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