ktlight
27th May 2011, 07:09
FYI:
An Australian military court has dropped manslaughter charges against two soldiers involved in the killing of five Afghan children during a raid in the southern province of Uruzgan in early 2009. The decision, issued last Friday, has far-reaching implications, with Australian forces effectively given a green light to kill civilians.
Judge Advocate Brigadier Ian Westwood agreed with the defence counsel that the charges ought to be thrown out because they "did not disclose service offences." Westwood said there was no specific wording in the Defence Force Discipline Act indicating that the soldiers had a duty of care for non-combatants. As a result, he concluded, they could not be prosecuted for manslaughter. The judge added that troops were compelled on "pain of penalty" to carry out attacks on the enemy, and they could not simply choose not to participate in military operations.
The decision affects two of the three accused soldiers―identified only as reservists, Sergeant J and Lance Corporal D―with the third, reportedly the unit commander, being brought to trial separately. It remains unclear what the decision means for his case. Military prosecutors can still lay charges other than manslaughter against the two lower ranked men, though this is unlikely
source to read more
http://uruknet.info/?p=m78085&hd=&size=1&l=e
An Australian military court has dropped manslaughter charges against two soldiers involved in the killing of five Afghan children during a raid in the southern province of Uruzgan in early 2009. The decision, issued last Friday, has far-reaching implications, with Australian forces effectively given a green light to kill civilians.
Judge Advocate Brigadier Ian Westwood agreed with the defence counsel that the charges ought to be thrown out because they "did not disclose service offences." Westwood said there was no specific wording in the Defence Force Discipline Act indicating that the soldiers had a duty of care for non-combatants. As a result, he concluded, they could not be prosecuted for manslaughter. The judge added that troops were compelled on "pain of penalty" to carry out attacks on the enemy, and they could not simply choose not to participate in military operations.
The decision affects two of the three accused soldiers―identified only as reservists, Sergeant J and Lance Corporal D―with the third, reportedly the unit commander, being brought to trial separately. It remains unclear what the decision means for his case. Military prosecutors can still lay charges other than manslaughter against the two lower ranked men, though this is unlikely
source to read more
http://uruknet.info/?p=m78085&hd=&size=1&l=e