Seven Polish soldiers found innocent in Afghanistan war crimes case

Jun 1, 2011, 10:54 GMT

Warsaw - Seven Polish soldiers accused of war crimes in Afghanistan were ruled innocent by a military district court in Warsaw, the first case regarding violations of the Hague and Geneva conventions in Polish history.

The prosecutors had not gathered enough evidence to find the men guilty of war crimes, the court ruled.

Prosecutors had sought between five to 12 years for the soldiers, saying the villagers in Nangar Khel, south-eastern Afghanistan, posed no threat and that the soldiers knowingly fired into buildings that contained civilians.

Six people died in the shooting on August 16, 2007, including two women, three children and a man getting ready for his wedding. Three more were injured in the shooting, in which the soldiers fired 26 mortar rounds and machine gun fire into the village. Two people died later in the hospital.

The trial was unique not only for Poland, but also in Europe, and is likely the first such case since past proceedings in relation to US Army activities in Vietnam, a court spokesman said.

The incident occurred after the Polish soldiers came under fire from Taliban forces and one Polish vehicle was hit in the exchange.

Prosecutors had said the situation later calmed down enough for the soldiers to begin cooking a meal. In the meantime, one group began firing on the village with machine guns and then threw grenades, prosecutors said.

The soldiers claimed they misfired because of faulty mortar and ammunition, and that they were aiming at Taliban militants in the nearby mountains.

Six of the soldiers were accused of killing civilians, while the seventh faced charges of firing into an undefended object.

Prosecutors had previously commended an officer who refused to carry out the order, and another who attempted to stop it.

The trial has been ongoing since February 2009.

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