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WARSAW — A military court on Wednesday cleared seven soldiers over
the deaths of a group of civilians in Afghanistan at the end of the first
ever Polish court martial involving troops fighting the Taliban.
Announcing his verdict, the presiding judge said the court had been unable
to gather key evidence or hear from witnesses to the incident in
southeastern Paktika province, giving it no option but to pass a not guilty
verdict.
"There is a lack of evidence that a war crime was committed in Nangar
Khel," the judge, Miroslaw Jaroszewski, told the packed Warsaw
courtroom.
"Judging the case at hand, the court was not in possession of
documentation precisely identifying the location from which weapons were
fired, and the locations from which witnesses saw the events, or their
ability to see the buildings in which the victims were located.
"The court's attempts to acquire the evidence were unsuccessful due to
circumstances beyond the court's control," he added.
Military prosecutors later said they would decide whether to launch an
appeal after reviewing the full written verdict.
Terming the deaths in 2007 of the six Afghan civilians in the village of
Nangar Khel "a deliberate act", the prosecutors had sought prison
sentences ranging from five to 12 years for the accused.
However their former chief brigade commander General Jerzy Wojcik said
after the verdict that while the soldiers had committed errors, they could
however be justified under the circumstances of the mission.
"Under stress, anyone can commit errors and in this case errors were
made. The court certainly confirmed it. Errors which can be justified," he
told reporters.
One of the accused, Warrant Officer Andrzej Osiecki, meanwhile told
Poland's TVN24 commercial news channel that he was delighted by th
acquittal.
"I'd like to thank all the people who supported us from the very beginning,"
he added.
The soldiers, members of Poland's contingent in NATO's International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, opened fire with mortars
and automatic weapons on the village in the mountainous Paktika
province.
Six Afghans died in the attack On August 16, 2007, and several others
were wounded. The victims included women and children.
Prosecutors had argued that the soldiers breached longstanding laws of
war -- notably the 1907 Fourth Hague Convention and the 1949 Fourth
Geneva Convention, governing the treatment of civilians in a conflict zone.
The soldiers pleaded not guilty, claiming that they were responding to a
Taliban attack and that the deaths resulted from faulty mortar equipment.
But prosecutors say the deaths occurred several hours after the Poles had
responded to an attack on a separate patrol.
"In war, mistakes happen, they have always happened but today we can
be satisfied that it doesn't mean that Polish troops are guilty of a crime,"
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said following the verdict, quoted
by the Polish PAP news agency.
With a strength of 2,600, Poland's is one of the largest contingents in the
NATO force.
So its not just Americans who murder.
"Not enough evidence" is a common aspect of the majority of the war crimes in Afghanistan. The murderers are left to carry on with their crimes because no-one happened to be filming them.
the deaths of a group of civilians in Afghanistan at the end of the first
ever Polish court martial involving troops fighting the Taliban.
Announcing his verdict, the presiding judge said the court had been unable
to gather key evidence or hear from witnesses to the incident in
southeastern Paktika province, giving it no option but to pass a not guilty
verdict.
"There is a lack of evidence that a war crime was committed in Nangar
Khel," the judge, Miroslaw Jaroszewski, told the packed Warsaw
courtroom.
"Judging the case at hand, the court was not in possession of
documentation precisely identifying the location from which weapons were
fired, and the locations from which witnesses saw the events, or their
ability to see the buildings in which the victims were located.
"The court's attempts to acquire the evidence were unsuccessful due to
circumstances beyond the court's control," he added.
Military prosecutors later said they would decide whether to launch an
appeal after reviewing the full written verdict.
Terming the deaths in 2007 of the six Afghan civilians in the village of
Nangar Khel "a deliberate act", the prosecutors had sought prison
sentences ranging from five to 12 years for the accused.
However their former chief brigade commander General Jerzy Wojcik said
after the verdict that while the soldiers had committed errors, they could
however be justified under the circumstances of the mission.
"Under stress, anyone can commit errors and in this case errors were
made. The court certainly confirmed it. Errors which can be justified," he
told reporters.
One of the accused, Warrant Officer Andrzej Osiecki, meanwhile told
Poland's TVN24 commercial news channel that he was delighted by th
acquittal.
"I'd like to thank all the people who supported us from the very beginning,"
he added.
The soldiers, members of Poland's contingent in NATO's International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, opened fire with mortars
and automatic weapons on the village in the mountainous Paktika
province.
Six Afghans died in the attack On August 16, 2007, and several others
were wounded. The victims included women and children.
Prosecutors had argued that the soldiers breached longstanding laws of
war -- notably the 1907 Fourth Hague Convention and the 1949 Fourth
Geneva Convention, governing the treatment of civilians in a conflict zone.
The soldiers pleaded not guilty, claiming that they were responding to a
Taliban attack and that the deaths resulted from faulty mortar equipment.
But prosecutors say the deaths occurred several hours after the Poles had
responded to an attack on a separate patrol.
"In war, mistakes happen, they have always happened but today we can
be satisfied that it doesn't mean that Polish troops are guilty of a crime,"
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said following the verdict, quoted
by the Polish PAP news agency.
With a strength of 2,600, Poland's is one of the largest contingents in the
NATO force.
So its not just Americans who murder.
"Not enough evidence" is a common aspect of the majority of the war crimes in Afghanistan. The murderers are left to carry on with their crimes because no-one happened to be filming them.
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