If you're Canadian and you follow the news than you've probably heard about Captain Robert Semaru and his court case. He was found guilty today by a military panel of disgraceful conduct but not guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of a wounded Afghan insurgent.
The charge of behaving in a disgraceful manner carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. His lawyers are expected to present a Charter of Rights argument over military sentencing procedures.
The decision was handed down today in Gatineau, Que. after three days of deliberations. The court martial of the Canadian Forces captain came after he was charged in a battlefield death in Afghanistan. Apparently there are rules to killing someone during a war.
The 36-year-old Semrau was accused of firing two rounds from his rifle into a dying Taliban fighter in Helmand province of Afghanistan in October 2008.
Semrau never testified, but an Afghan army captain, who was on the patrol with Semrau, testified the Taliban fighter was "98 per cent dead" when he was found.
In addition to the disgraceful conduct charge, Semrau was charged with three other offences, including second-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 years, the alternate charge of attempting to commit murder with a firearm and negligent performance of a military duty. He was also found not guilty of the latter two charges.
I for one am glad he was acquitted of most of the charges but I honestly felt this never should have gone to trial to begin with. All is fair in love and war as far as I'm concerned and the Taliban fighter was going to die anyway. If anything, Semrau should have been commended for doing his duty and for putting a suffering enemy out of his misery.
We ask this man and and the thousands of other men and women in uniform to go to war and defend not only the people of Afghanistan who can't fight for themselves but the millions of Canadians back home as well. This is thanks they get.
I have no doubt that Captain Semaru wouldn't have pulled the trigger had the gravely wounded Taliban scumbag not been injured as badly and could have been saved.
Did he follow proper military conduct? Obviously not but from what I've read on the incident he followed the proper humane conduct. It's easy for people to sit in their comfy chairs in front of their big screen televisions and pass judgment after having time to think about things. It's another thing entirely different to make decisions in fractions of a second during a war or battle with an enemy on their own turf.
I'm quite sure that had the roles been reversed the Taliban soldiers would have tormented, tortured and inflicted inhumane pain on a Canadian soldier. Remember, these are the same chicken shit SOB's who sneak around at night planting bombs rather than fighting like men for their cause. How can we possibly give them respect while at the same time disrespecting one of our own?
This man deserves our gratitude for his service to our country, not jail time and I support his actions 100%.
Disgraceful conduct/conduct unbecoming are catch-alls that the military always include in any charges. Its a way for them to ensure that a charge will come to fruitition. I'm sure Semaru is well aware of this. The military has betrayed Semaru, and in turn they have failed Canadians as well. Semaru is a brave and couragous soldier, who was sent on an impossible mission. I am proud of him and his choices!
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