Capt. Robert Semrau Charged With Murder in Afghanistan

[PuckChaser]

They charged him with a crime that they're not even sure they can convict him on, possibly tarnishing this man's career just for fun?

Something smells about this whole situation, but I'm sure justice will prevail and things will be sorted out.

 

[Garett]

As a friend of Rob's I've been holding off commeting on this issue as I wouldn't want something I post to end up in a CBC news storey, but I'm furious at the Globe and Mail due to the article I just read with Rob's wife's and daughter's names, what Rob's wife's job is and where she got her degree from. I'm pretty damn sure that has absolutely nothing to do with whatever happened in Afghanistan.

I'm also pissed at the people who think they're helping by posting comments on Facebook and other places saying that theres nothing wrong with killing wounded insurgents because they would do it to us. If anyone wants to help, they should just keep their mouths shut and let this play out. This issue could further polarize the Canadian public when we really need to be coming closer together on Afghanistan and other issues.

 

[observor 69]

Congrats to the mods and other contributors for their work at keeping this thread on solid ground.
Spare me the thoughtless, uninformed and emotional outbursts.

 

[PanaEng]

Commentary from Ms Blatchford:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090107.wblatch07/BNStory/Front

cheers,
Frank

 

[The Bread Guy]

Canadian Press says

A military judge has released an army officer charged with murdering a wounded and apparently unarmed enemy fighter in Afghanistan.  The judge, Lt.-Col. Louis-Vincent d'Auteuil, has granted a joint request by both defence and prosecution to allow Capt. Robert Semrau, 35, to rejoin his unit at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa and live at home in neighbouring Pembroke, Ont.  D'Auteuil placed conditions on the soldier's release, however, ordering him to remain under military authority, to stay in Canada, to surrender his passport and not to communicate with any Afghan National Army troops or five Canadian soldiers.  Semrau is also not allowed to handle any weapons or explosives, even in his soldierly duties, without prior approval from the court....

- edited to change subject line for this post only -

 

[Nfld Sapper]

NATIONAL NEWS     
Last updated at 8:48 AM on 07/01/09 

Capt. Robert Semrau arrives under military police custody for his custody hearing at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, Ont., Tuesday. - Photo by The Canadian Press 

Witness to testify
Army captain accused of shooting severely wounded insurgent

PETAWAWA, ONT.
BRUCE CHEADLE
The Canadian Press

A Canadian soldier charged with second-degree murder was seen firing his weapon at a severely injured Afghan insurgent - but the body was never recovered, according to documents read into the military court record.

Capt. Robert Semrau, 35, faced his first court appearance Tuesday since being charged Dec. 31 for an offence alleged to have taken place last October in Helmand Province.

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 when they were ambushed by the Taliban during a 26-kilometre overland pursuit.

A U.S. Apache helicopter was called in, after which the group discovered one dead insurgent and another with wounds "too severe for any type of treatment" in the field.

An assault rifle was taken from the injured man.

According to the court document, the dead and wounded were photographed by Semrau's group "in accordance with standard procedures," after which Semrau was seen standing alone by the two insurgents.

Two shots were heard and "at least one witness" will say he saw Semrau firing his rifle at the wounded insurgent.

 

[Cloud Cover]

I'm also pissed at the people who think they're helping by posting comments on Facebook and other places saying that theres nothing wrong with killing wounded insurgents because they would do it to us. If anyone wants to help, they should just keep their mouths shut and let this play out. This issue could further polarize the Canadian public when we really need to be coming closer together on Afghanistan and other issues.

+1 ...

 

[The Bread Guy]

A few more details from a later rewrite by Canadian Press (highlight mine):

....Lt.-Col. Louis-Vincent d'Auteuil, the presiding judge, agreed with the military prosecution and Semrau's military lawyer that keeping Semrau in custody pending a court martial was not necessary. A trial is not expected before the autumn, at the earliest .... Both the judge and the Crown, Maj. Marylene Trudel, noted the investigation is continuing and that Semrau's second-degree murder charge is at a "preliminary level" and has not yet been referred to the director of military prosecutions.  Trudel noted Tuesday during the custody arguments that whether there is a reasonable prospect of a conviction must still be determined and the charges could change...

 

[Redeye]

Garett - I know what you mean - the FB group is borderline ridiculous.  Some of the crap being spouted there - by CF members, no less, is almost terrifying.  These folks seem to have no concept of what "stay in your lane" means.  There's a lot of nonsense being posted there.

 

[a_majoor]

Some more reasoned commentary:

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/01/07/michael-ross-saving-captain-semrau.aspx

Michael Ross: Saving Captain Semrau
Posted: January 07, 2009, 3:19 PM by Marni Soupcoff
Michael Ross

My favourite line of dialogue from a war film is delivered by Martin Sheen who plays the conflicted “Captain Willard” in Frances Ford Coppola’s epic Vietnam War film, Apocalypse Now. In a philosophical moment, Willard states that, “Charging a man with murder in a place like this is like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500.” No truer words were spoken by any soldier in a war theatre but the difference in our present geopolitical reality dictates that unlike the Vietnam War – and all wars previous to that one – soldiers are now expected to be whiter than white and purer than pure in their deployment in modern wars where purity and morality are the rarest of commodities. In the case of our involvement in Afghanistan, the whole premise of our soldiers being in country is predicated upon our being a force of armed aid workers. Perhaps this was the only way to sell our ongoing involvement in Afghanistan to the Canadian public but from personal experience, I can easily state that the men and women of the Canadian Forces are being held to what appears at times to be a ridiculous standard. It’s almost as if we must regard them as camouflage attired employees of an NGO like “CARE” in order to validate continued support for the mission.

Counter-insurgency conflicts that involve proponents of Jihad are the worst of battlefield scenarios and as we have seen in Gaza, tightly enmeshed with civilians who either can’t get out of the way or are cynically used as human shields for propaganda purposes by the enemy. In the case of Captain Semrau all we are allowed to know right now is that he allegedly killed an unarmed member of the Taliban. This being a “murder investigation” it is unlikely that many details will be divulged to the public so we must rely on nothing more than speculation and sketchy detail as a means to understand the nature of this incident.

My first problem with this whole state of affairs is the declaration that the Taliban in question was unarmed at the time of his killing. Unless the gentleman was standing stark naked in front of Captain Semrau and his men with hands and feet firmly bound, how is anyone supposed to know if he was unarmed and not carrying a concealed grenade, pistol, knife, or explosive device? From what we understand, the Taliban fellow was killed subsequent to a firefight between Coalition soldiers and the Taliban in Helmand Province. Dealing with an enemy that has no problem killing himself in the process of trying to kill or maim you makes soldiers extra twitchy – especially post battle - and all it would have taken was for the Taliban member to make a sudden move or threatening gesture to elicit a perfectly justified lethal response from the soldiers as they sought to defend themselves, their comrades, or in the case of Captain Semrau, the soldiers under his care. This wasn’t a police arrest after a crime was committed but the aftermath of an intense firefight with a fierce and ideologically determined enemy who uses any and all means to inflict death and destruction on soldiers and civilians alike.

From what we know of Captain Semrau based on comments made by his family, friends, and teachers, he is a conscientious and dedicated officer who took his role and the mission in Afghanistan seriously. In fact, Captain Semrau was appointed to a position requiring significant cultural sensitivity as an operational mentor and liaison to the Afghan National Army. This is hardly the kind of duty granted to someone who may possibly be at risk of abusing or killing unarmed enemy combatants at the slightest provocation. The really glaring irony of the whole episode is that Captain Semrau - in his capacity as operational mentor to the undisciplined Afghan Army - would actually be the guy tasked with explaining to the Afghan forces why it is not soldierly nor in their interest to abuse prisoners let alone execute unarmed Taliban after a battlefield confrontation.

The big problem with this case however lies with the knee-jerk fear that we will once again become embroiled in a Somalia-type scandal all over again. There are already cries from the usual Jack Layton endorsed anti-war crowd who cynically see this case as yet another reason why we should summarily depart Afghanistan and leave it to the Taliban – who as we all know have their own unique sense of justice and morality.

With very little effort, war historians across the country could provide countless examples of moral degradation on the battlefield and even a few incidents where Canadian soldiers summarily executed German prisoners during both World Wars. There are no excuses for what happens on the battlefield under these conditions, but before we judge the case of Captain Semrau, let’s make sure we know exactly what happened and no less importantly, why it happened. It’s the very least we owe our soldiers. It is they after all who are fighting this war.

 

[old medic]

Soldier's story
Captain's case already being played out on the pages of Facebook
By MICHAEL DEN TANDT
Friday, January 9, 2009
http://www.winnipegsun.com/comment/columnists/michael_dentandt/2009/01/09/7964931-sun.html

Here's the thing about the pending trial of Canadian Forces Capt. Robert Semrau on a charge of second-degree murder, in connection with the death of a Taliban insurgent in Helmand Province last Oct. 19.

Those who really know what happened aren't saying - not yet. And those who don't know? They're saying an awful lot. In fact, judging from what you read on Facebook, it's impossible for them to contain themselves.

Within hours of the charges being laid Dec. 31 there were three Facebook groups dedicated to the case. Now there are seven. The largest, which is supportive of Semrau, has just shy of 4,700 members. The smallest had just three at this writing.

It's gratifying to see that by far the largest group is supportive of the accused soldier. We owe him the presumption of innocence and the respect that any Canadian soldier serving in harm's way deserves.

The reality though, is that no one on Facebook really knows what they're talking about, unless the captain himself and the five witnesses to the incident are also blogging

Those opposed to the mission in Afghanistan assume he's guilty as charged: They assume he shot to death an unarmed and severely wounded Taliban insurgent, who was legally a prisoner of war. For the diehard anti-war crowd, most of whom were weaned on anti-Vietnam war movies made in the '80s and '90s, no soldier can ever really do anything good.

In battle or afterwards?

At the other end of the room is the kill-and-gut-the-Taliban crowd. These folks believe that war is hell, it's kill or be killed, and what difference does it make if the insurgent is shot in battle or afterwards?

Both sides are misguided.

There is only one set of circumstances that can justify the shooting of an unarmed prisoner by a Canadian soldier, even in a battle zone, after the battle is over. That is if the soldier has a reasonable belief that the prisoner is concealing a weapon and is about to use it. Otherwise, it's an execution.

Mercy killing? Not allowed. Say an enemy combatant is in great agony and sure to die. That may have been the case here, according to the information released so far. The insurgent was reportedly so badly wounded that his injuries were untreatable on the battlefield.

In that situation the soldier's duty is to comfort the prisoner, as best he can, until his death.

Why does it matter?

Because Canadian soldiers are the good guys. This is not sloganeering: it's the truth as I've seen in Kandahar and Kabul. To a man and woman the soldiers I met in Afghanistan believed they were there to help people, to uphold justice, to protect the weak. That is their moral and professional code.

That code is integral to their survival. It protects their spirit, their unit cohesion and their morale. It gives them the inner strength they need to do their jobs despite privation, loneliness and fear. They risk their lives every day for this code.

That's why violations of it, when they become known, cannot be tolerated or ignored. The brass initially tried to sweep Somalia under the rug a generation ago. The resulting damage to the Canadian Forces was incalculable. They swore never again and the Semrau case proves they meant it.

Is Semrau guilty? Let's all of us, the great unwashed who were not there and don't know, reserve judgment. And let the system of military justice take its course.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Canadian Forces Officer to Face General Court Martial
CF news release, 18 Sept 09
Release link

Captain Robert Semrau will face a General Court Martial in relation to the shooting death of a wounded insurgent that occurred in Afghanistan in October 2008.

Capt. Semrau was arrested on December 31, 2008, by the National Investigation Service and charged with Second Degree Murder while deployed in Afghanistan as Commander of an Operational Mentor Liaison Team. Capt. Semrau was released under conditions on January 7, 2009, by the Military Judge presiding over the custody review hearing at CFB Petawawa.

Following referral to the Canadian Forces Director of Military Prosecutions (DMP), Captain (Navy) Holly MacDougall, the original charge of Second Degree Murder, and three additional charges were brought forward or "preferred" to Court Martial.

The charges facing Capt. Semrau are:

- Second Degree Murder - contrary to Section 130 of the National Defence Act, pursuant to Section 235(1) of the Criminal Code;
- Attempt to Commit Murder (alternative to the Charge of Second Degree Murder) - contrary to Section 130 of the National Defence Act, pursuant to Section 239(1)(a.1) of the Criminal Code;
- Behaving in a Disgraceful Manner - contrary to Section 93 of the National Defence Act; and
- Negligently Performing a Military Duty - contrary to Section 124 of the National Defence Act.

The charges have been forwarded to the Court Martial Administrator who will convene a General Court Martial at the first available date and at a location to be determined.

A General Court Martial is composed of a military judge and a panel of five members. The accused is represented by a defence counsel designated by the Director of Defence Counsel Service.

The DMP considers two main issues when deciding whether to prosecute a charge at court martial:

- Is the evidence sufficient to justify the continuation of charges as laid or the preferral of other charges?
- If the evidence is sufficient, does the public interest require a prosecution to be pursued?

DMP continually reassesses these issues as new information about the case becomes available and has the discretion to bring forward, or "prefer," the charge or any other charge based on facts disclosed by evidence in addition to, or in substitution for, the charge.

The DMP is a separate and independent authority for military prosecutions who exercises prosecutorial discretion within the military justice system, free of influences, and based on legal principles and criteria.

Further information:

Charge Laid Relating to Death of Presumed Insurgent
http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/view-news-afficher-nouvelles-eng.asp?id=2840
(News Release - 2 January 2009)

Custody hearing to take place for charged Canadian Forces member
http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/view-news-afficher-nouvelles-eng.asp?id=2841
(Media Advisory - 5 January 2009)

Custody hearing decision:
http://www.jmc-cmj.forces.gc.ca/dec/2009/doc/Semrau%20Decision-CRH-eng.pdf

- edited to remove merge suggestion, change link to CF site now that statement is available there -

 

[dapaterson]

Hmm... a Friday afternoon press release... imagine that...

 

[The Bread Guy]

Hmm... a Friday afternoon press release... imagine that...

Well, at least it wasn't sent at 4:57pm, was it? 

 

[Fusaki]

I don't disagree, no remorse.  So why are we discussing charging this Officer for dispatching a badly wounded person who moments ago was more than willing to dispatch him?  frig 'em all.

The Officer, from my Regiment, has only been accused of a crime.  I don't know him personally, but those who do speak VERY highly of his character.  I trust the opinions of those who've told me that Capt Semrau is a true professional and I don't think it's fair to speak as if he's actually done something before the verdict is read.

That said, the fact that we make laws and we enforce them is what separates a professional army with the likes of the Taliban.  Whether or not it should be illegal to "finish off" a mortally wounded enemy is a separate issue.

 

[Kat Stevens]

The Officer, from my Regiment, has only been accused of a crime.  I don't know him personally, but those who do speak VERY highly of his character.  I trust the opinions of those who've told me that Capt Semrau is a true professional and I don't think it's fair to speak as if he's actually done something before the verdict is read.

That said, the fact that we make laws and we enforce them is what separates a professional army with the likes of the Taliban.  Whether or not it should be illegal to "finish off" a mortally wounded enemy is a separate issue.

You seem to delight in technicalities, so here's another:  I never said he did it, I said being charged with it.  See the difference?

edit:  my mistake, it seems I said "for" instead of "with".

 

[zipperhead_cop]

I'm no crown, but I'm curious how one can be charged with murder and attempted murder for a single victim?  Either you killed a guy, and it was not just an attempt.  Or you tried to kill a guy and he's still alive.  That just strikes me as being a bit of too wide a net cast. 
I hope Capt. Semrau is doing well and is enjoying his time with his family. 

 

[FastEddy]

I'm no crown, but I'm curious how one can be charged with murder and attempted murder for a single victim?  Either you killed a guy, and it was not just an attempt.  Or you tried to kill a guy and he's still alive.  That just strikes me as being a bit of too wide a net cast. 
I hope Capt. Semrau is doing well and is enjoying his time with his family.

Yes and Yes, I echo those thoughts exactly.

I sure hope whoever reported the facts or events of this incident, are really feeling good about themselves for doing their DUTY, yes Sirree, just the kind of guys you'd like to have a beer with.

 

[tango22a]

It appears to be a bit of a shotgun approach. If not guilty on one charge, we'll whack him with the other.

Years ago, when I was taking my Corporal's Course, we were told " When laying a charge ALWAYS add a charge of " conduct prejudicial to  good order and discipline."  If you really wanted to hang the guy out and you couldn't get him on a major charge you could almost always get him on "conduct prejudicial".

tango22a

 

[PMedMoe]

I'm no crown, but I'm curious how one can be charged with murder and attempted murder for a single victim?  Either you killed a guy, and it was not just an attempt.  Or you tried to kill a guy and he's still alive.  That just strikes me as being a bit of too wide a net cast. 
I hope Capt. Semrau is doing well and is enjoying his time with his family.

I agree.  Is this like being "kind of" pregnant? 

I, too, agree with your final comment.