As a result of the incident where four UK Marines were recorded laughing and joking before shooting dead an Afghani insurgent, three are facing murder charges in a military court in England, reports Channel 4 News.
The judge in the trial ordered the audio, which is from one of the Marine’s helmet recorders, to be released as it is key to the prosecution’s case. You can hear it above.
This transcript, via Channel 4 News, shows Marines A and C, who are both charged with murder, and Marine D, who is not being charged (M is unidentified):
A: Get his a*** over there.
B: F****** ****
M: F****** b******
(Coughs)
Why couldn’t (you/he) just be f****** dead?…
Good effort lads…
D: You’re browners, fella.
B: Don’t give a f*** about you, son.
(Vocalisations probably from insurgent).
M: Does anyone recognise him?
Stop f****** whinging,
B: F****** p****.
A: Right, get him closer in so PGSS (surveillance balloon) can’t see what we’re doing to him.
M: (Place/push) him in there, come on.
A: Get him right in.
M: Come on.
A: Over by that corn.
M: That’ll do.
A: Right, in that – that clear space…Get him right over here.
M: That’ll do, that’ll do, that’ll do.
D: Do you want him back in?
A: Yeah, I want – I want him in this area here so I can see what the f*** (we’re/I’m) doing.
A: Anybody want to do first aid on this idiot?
M: No
B: No
C: I’ll put one in his head, if you want.
M: (Laughs)
C: Take your pick.
A: No, not in his head, ’cause that’ll be f****** obvious.
M: Just move him round here. Move him round.
B: Going to switch this f***** off.
These are the significant extracts of the second video:
A: Yeah, he’s got a f***** chest wound, mate.
M: F****** hell.
B: We’ll patch him (with) an FFD (first field dressing), Steve…
A: Yeah, send, over. (Speaking on radio).
B: That’ll do, won’t it?…Keep your eyes on my weapon, mate.
M: Where’s that – (where’s that Ugly (Apache helicopter) now?
A: He’s – he’s over there and he can f****** see us. Ah.
B: Better send up a nine liner, I suppose. (Request for helicopter casualty evacuation).
A: Yeah, er we’re just waiting for Steve to er get…He may well be dead. (Speaking on radio).
C: He’ll be on – be behind them trees in a minute.
B: For f***’s sake, I can’t believe I’m doing this.
C: Don’t – just – don’t – yeah- wait a minute, just pretend to do it, till he’s behind them trees.
M: Just strangle him
(Laughs)
A: Yeah, he’s past. F*** it, he’s past.
M: Yeah
C: He’s dead.
A: Hello, one zero. One four hotel. (Speaking on radio).
B: F****** ****, shooting at Talander, you ****.
A: I hate to say it, administering first aid to this er individual, he’s er…(Speaking on radio).
B: Wait
A: Passed on from this er this world, over. (Speaking on radio)…
Do my best to er biometrically enrol him erm and then er gather a DNA samples er (Speaking on radio)…
To bag up with the evidence, the weapon and the er grenade, over. (Speaking on radio).
B: There was a grenade there as well, was there…
C: Yeah in his pocket.
B: F****** ****.
M: Yeah ****.
B: That’s probably re – ready to go on you boys.
M: Mm…(Get your) shot f******…F****** hell.
C: Yeah maybe we should pump one in his heart.
There then follows a period of radio traffic.
The video continues:
A: Er he’s dead. Don’t waste your f****** FFDs on the cheeser. Take it off him…
There you are, shuffle off this mortal coil, you c***… it’s nothing you wouldn’t do to us.
B: I know.
M: Exactly… All right…
A: Obviously, this doesn’t go anywhere, fellas.
B: Yeah, roger, mate.
A: I’ve just broke the Geneva Convention.
B: Yeah, roge.
A: Biometric data module, right. Er try and brush some of that s*** off his face.
B: If anything – if anything gets heard mate, it’s as a warning shot went down.
A: Yeah Steve, he’s er fully dead now. (Speaking on radio).