The judge, Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Guy Perron, told the 36-year-old captain that he had failed in his role as a military leader and as an “ambassador of Canadian values.” The Forces code of conduct says soldiers must offer aid to wounded enemies that do not pose a threat.
“How can we expect our soldiers to follow the laws of war if their officers do not? How can we expect the Afghan National Army to follow the laws of war if the officers mentoring them do not?” Lt.-Col. Perron said.
Capt. Semrau managed to avoid jail time or the more severe sentence of “dismissal with disgrace.”
Testimony heard during trial suggested the close-range “double-tap” shooting was an effort to end the suffering of a gravely injured man. But Capt. Semrau was acquitted of second-degree murder and attempted murder in July after the prosecution, which could not produce a body from the war zone, failed to substantiate either charge. He was instead found guilty this summer of shooting the insurgent – and convicted of disgraceful conduct under the National Defence Act.
Semrau’s sentence criticized for ‘ambiguous’ message - The Globe and Mail
Capt. Semrau got about the same punishment as most of the American marines who participated in the Haditha massacre. In that case, those marines went from house to house shooting unarmed civilians including women, children and a mother with a baby in her arms. Are you saying these crimes are equal?