PETAWAWA, Ontario - 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.
A joint "synopsis" of the Oct. 19 incident says Semrau was mentoring an Afghan National Army unit under British command when they were ambushed.
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; the document says an assault rifle was taken from the wounded man before Semrau was allegedly seen firing his rifle at him.
The Canadian and ANA forces moved on, and the body of the dead insurgent was never recovered.
Semrau has been charged with second-degree murder for "shooting with intent to kill" an unarmed "presumed insurgent" in Afghanistan.
