Canadian soldiers jailed for attack on gay man in Amsterdam
THE HAGUE (AFP) — A Dutch court on Tuesday jailed two Canadian soldiers due to be posted to Afghanistan for an assault on a gay man in Amsterdam.
Eric Wright was sentenced to five months in jail and ordered to pay 6,000 euros (8,300 Canadian dollars/8,500 US dollars) in damages and Ryan Dowie was given 45 days in jail, a court spokesman told AFP.
The two men, both aged 22 at the time of the incident, were arrested following a brawl in May in which a 28 year-old gay man was hospitalised with serious injuries.
The victim claimed he was attacked after the soldiers had asked him whether he was gay but the court found insufficient evidence proving this.
They were passing through the Netherlands at the time before heading to Afghanistan as part of Canada’s 2,500-strong contingent in a NATO force fighting the Taliban.
Source: afp.google.com