Canadian soldier charged with murder of unarmed man in Afghanistan

UPDATE: January 3. From: CTV.ca

Experts question investigation

Michel Drapeau, a retired Canadian colonel who practises law in Ottawa, he's concerned about the time lapse between the alleged incident and the date of the charges.

"I can't believe that you'd be able to suffocate this kind of report for two-and-a-half months . . . unless you wanted to," he told CTV News.

"Was there a conspiracy along the way? Did everybody agree not to talk about it, not to report it? Everybody under the National Defence Act has a positive duty to report a crime when they see it."

Amir Attaran, a law professor with the University of Ottawa, told CTV News the timing of the charge "doesn't pass the smell test."

He questioned how quickly the military went from launching the investigation to laying a charge, suggesting that they already knew "who their man was."

Paul Champ, a human rights lawyer, says he's also concerned about the timing of events.

"The biggest concern is the delay," Champ told The Canadian Press.

"The allegations are that a Canadian officer -- a mentor, at that -- shot an unarmed man over two months ago. And we don't have any information about why it took so long for that allegation to come forward or be investigated ... That has to be the gravest concern which most closely parallels Somalia."

Champ noted that a similar delay occurred in 1993 after a Somali teenager was beaten to death by members of the Canadian Airborne Regiment during their peacekeeping mission in Africa.

"There was also a delay in the investigation by military police in what was clearly a brutal murder," he said.

But Chao said military officials in Afghanistan have said such comparisons don't fit -- the incident occurred out in the field and therefore investigators needed time for their probe due to logistics.

They also said Semrau is innocent until proven guilty in court.

[Read Full Story
---------------------------------------------------------------

Canadian Soldier Charged with murder of unarmed man in Afghanistan

From: Canadian Press, January 2.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A Canadian soldier has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a presumed Taliban fighter in Helmand province.

Capt. Robert Semrau is accused of shooting an unarmed man during a battle in October in which Afghan soldiers defended the Helmand capital of Lashkar Gah from a prolonged attack by insurgents.

A news release says the major crimes unit of Canada's military police charged Semrau on Dec. 31, 2008.

He is being held in military police custody before being returned to Canada.

Afghan soldiers in Helmand for the Lashkar Gah mission were being supervised by Canadian military mentors and were backed up by British forces.

Afghan and NATO officials claimed at least 100 Taliban died in the fighting.