GATINEAU, Que. – Demoted and dismissed from the Canadian military for shooting a wounded Afghan insurgent, Robert Semrau now faces an uncertain future as a civilian.
Semrau, the first Canadian soldier ever to stand trial for a battlefield shooting, remained silent Tuesday in the aftermath of his sentencing.
He has maintained a stoic, military bearing throughout his trial.
His lawyer, Capt. David Hodson, said Semrau was "very disappointed" with the sentence, which reduced his rank from captain to second-lieutenant and removed him from military service.
The reduction in rank carries a financial penalty.
"He’s a warrior," Hodson told reporters. "He loved to serve in the Canadian Forces and loved serving his country."
Semrau’s valorous career as an infantry officer came to an ignoble end when Lt.-Col. Jean-Guy Perron said he no longer deserved to wear a Canadian uniform.
"You made a decision that will cast a shadow on you for the rest of your life," Perron, the military judge, told Semrau.
In deciding to shoot an unarmed insurgent, the judge said, Semrau ignored the laws that govern warfare and applied his own morality.
"The code of conduct clearly states we must offer assistance to wounded enemies who do not pose a threat to us," Perron said. "Decisions based on personal values cannot prevail over lawful commands."
Prosecutors had sought a two-year jail sentence in the case.
Semrau, 36, of Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, was convicted in July of disgraceful conduct for shooting the insurgent, who had been grievously wounded when blasted from a tree by an Apache helicopter. The man’s body was never recovered.
Semrau was the leader of a four-man mentoring team, known as 72 Alpha, at the time of the incident.
His actions, placed his subordinates in an "unimaginable situation," the judge noted.
"They had to either support him with their silence or do their duty and report his misconduct," Perron said.
He asked Semrau how those soldiers – or the Afghans with whom they worked – could be expected to follow the rules of armed conflict after his undisciplined decision to shoot a wounded, unarmed man.
"Capt. Semrau, I do not know if you have taken any time to reflect on this question in the last year. If not, do so," the judge ordered.
Semrau has 30 days in which to appeal the jury’s verdict and the judge’s sentence.
Lt.-Col. Bruce MacGregor, director of military justice policy, told reporters the sentence sends a message to soldiers that "discipline is at the heart of leadership within the Canadian Forces.
"If we act outside of the rule of law, Canadian Forces members, we will have to take responsibility for that," he said.
Perron said there were few precedents to draw upon in sentencing Semrau. The vast majority of disgraceful conduct cases in Canada have involved allegations of sexual misconduct, while two U.S. cases with similar facts involved more serious offences.
"This case is unique and for many reasons," Perron said.
Ultimately, the judge said, he had to dismiss Semrau because there was no evidence that the officer has taken responsibility for his actions, or considers them unacceptable.
Semrau did not testify during his trial or at his sentencing hearing.
"I don’t know if you fully understand what you did: the consequences of your actions," Perron said. "I can’t know because you chose not to address the court."
Semrau will be officially released from the military within 30 days.
Semrau was acquitted of second-degree murder, attempted murder and the negligent performance of a military duty. He was found guilty of disgraceful conduct, an offence under the National Defence Act.
Testimony suggested the infantry officer shot the Taliban fighter – left to die by the Afghan National Army – to end his suffering.
Semrau told a fellow soldier, Pte. Steven Fournier, it was a "mercy kill," and that he couldn’t abide leaving a dying man to suffer.
At the time of the shooting, Semrau’s mentoring team was embedded with an Afghan rifle company.
On Oct. 19, 2008, the Afghans led a mission to root out Taliban insurgents who had moved into the Helmand River Valley. Soldiers came under attack hours into the operation and an Apache gunship was called in to quell the ambush.
The Apache killed one insurgent and left another with severe leg and stomach wounds. Afghan soldiers readied the man for death by wrapping his head in a scarf, then pushed on with their patrol.
Semrau backtracked to the dying insurgent with Fournier and an Afghan interpreter, both of whom later testified that he shot the wounded man at close range.
Fournier testified that Semrau met with his unit minutes after the incident and told them all it was a mercy killing.
Another team member, Warrant Officer Merlin Longaphie, testified that no such meeting took place.
A third member of the team, former Cpl. Tony Haraszta, offered a possible explanation for that inconsistency: he told the court – with the jury absent – that a coverup was discussed by 72 Alpha. The idea was raised by Longaphie during a meeting at the end of that day’s patrol, he said.
Haraszta made the allegation during Semrau’s murder trial, but the jury was never allowed to hear of it.
During the sentencing hearing, character witnesses described Semrau as a courageous and dedicated officer who risked his life to treat wounded Afghan soldiers during a November 2008 mortar attack in the Panjwaii district.
The youngest son of devout Christian parents from Moose Jaw, Sask., Semrau holds a degree in psychology from the University of Saskatchewan. He joined the Canadian Forces in August 2005 after serving three years in an elite parachute unit of the British army, with whom he deployed to Macedonia and Afghanistan.
The former high-school football star and personal trainer lives in Petawawa, Ont., with his wife, Amelie Lapierre-Semrau, a kindergarten teacher, and their two young daughters.
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