ANP Archive photo of practicing soldiers
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 18:11
Three Dutch soldiers have been sentenced to community service for involvement in a shooting incident while deployed in Afghanistan. A fellow soldier lost his arm as a result of “a series of mistakes”, according to the military chamber of the court in Arnhem.
In 2021, the victim was shot in the arm during an exercise. The intention was to shoot blanks, but against the rules real bullets were brought to the training ground.
The three soldiers ignored a service order or did not follow service instructions and are therefore guilty of involvement in the serious injury of the victim, according to the court. As a result of the shooting wound, his right arm had to be amputated. The victim still experiences the consequences of this every day and for the rest of his life, the court says.
Compensation of 50,000 euros
A 31-year-old man from Montferland was sentenced to 140 hours of community service. A 32-year-old man from The Hague received a community service order of 90 hours and a 26-year-old man from Kampen received a community service order of 70 hours. They must also together pay a total of 50,000 euros in compensation to the injured colleague.
It is prohibited to take so-called live ammunition to the training area. It is unclear why the 31-year-old soldier took the bullets with him. The 32-year-old had seen that there was live ammunition in the army vehicle. He put the bullets in the back seat, but according to the court, he did nothing to prevent them from being shot. The man also said nothing about his find to managers.
The 26-year-old soldier then put the bullets in the magazine of his service weapon. He was under the impression that there were blanks in it. It is mandatory to check this, but it was not done.
2023-12-18 17:11:37
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