Captain Robert of the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment,is alleged to have killed a severely wounded Taliban insurgent after a firefight October 19 2008 in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. He was commanding a small team of Canadian soldiers who were mentoring soldiers from Afghan National Army forces. The Taliban struck while the Canadians and their Afghan allies were in a British area of operation.
According to an agreed “synopsis” of known circumstances surrounding the Oct. 19 incident, Semrau was with a Canadian operational mentor and liaison team under British command and working with the Afghan National Army and Afghan police when they were ambushed by the Taliban insurgents during a 26-kilometre overland pursuit. After a U.S. Army Apache gunship was called in to clear the area, the Afghan army discovered the wounded Taliban and seized his assault rifle.
When the firefight was over, one dead combatant and another with wounds determined to be “too severe for any type of treatment” in the field. Military prosecutors say they believe he was quickly disarmed and that two shots from a Canadian weapon killed him. Semrau’s group photographed the injured insurgent and the body of another insurgent nearby. After this, Semrau was observed to be the only person near the wounded Taliban fighter, the statement says. It was during this period the two shots were heard. “At least one witness reports that he saw Capt. Semrau firing his rifle at the severely wounded insurgent,” the prosecution’s synopsis said. The Canadian and ANA forces then immediately moved on, and the body of the insurgent was never recovered.
In a video shot by a soldier the day before the ambush, Semrau describes the Afghan soldiers as “really good guys.” In the tape, he said the soldiers lacked “the basic soldiering skills” Canadian Forces take for granted, such as how to conduct certain types of searches and cordon off areas, but it was his role to mentor them through it.
When asked where he was heading, he said it was unclear what was to take place, but they were going to Lashkar Gah to join their Afghan army counterparts. “I imagine we’ll do some aggressive patrolling, some defensive work and try to rear up the Taliban to kill and capture them.”
Semrau was arrested December 30 and charged December 31 before being flown back to Canada.
Semrau has been charged with second-degree murder for “shooting with intent to kill” an unarmed “presumed insurgent” in Afghanistan. “After evaluating all available evidence, the prosecution believes that it was Capt. Semrau who fired both shots, that these shots resulted in the death of the severely wounded insurgent, and that Captain Semrau had no lawful justification for shooting [him],” military prosecutor Major Marylene Trudel told the court.
The seriousness of the charge – and the 2½-month lag before the military went public about it – have drawn comparisons to the 1993 Somalia affair, when military officials tried to cover up details of the deadly beating of a Somali teen. Although the incident surrounding the charge happened more than two months ago, Col. Jamie Cade, acting commander of Task Force Kandahar, was only made aware of the allegations on Dec. 27. He notified the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, an independent military police unit, which laid the charge on Dec. 31 after analyzing the evidence and interviewing witnesses.
Military law expert Michel Drapeau, a retired colonel, said that the responsibilities of Canadian soldiers when dealing with an injured enemy are clear-cut. “If he was a presumed insurgent, he is no longer a threat at that time,” Drapeau said. “Once he is in your custody you have a duty to protect him and give him feeding and shelter and protection. That’s what the law requires, certainly not to enhance his injuries or enhance the risk to his life.”
Documents filed in court show that he enlisted in the Forces in 2005, but previously served with the British Army for three years, including stints in Macedonia and Afghanistan. “After completing his contract with the British Army, he was released with an exemplary discharge, which is higher than honourable discharge,” court documents say.
The truth of what happened on that day will never be known if for no reason other than the time that has passed…
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