RicardoBlanco wrote:
The question is, does this warrant a court martial? Given that many of these prisoners are probably innocent and held because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, did the actions of this soldiers put his comrades in danger?
Yes absolutely. First of all you are making an assumption that
"many of these prisoners are probably innocent". Even if that were true, there is no evidence that the particular prisoners in question are innocent. To take it one step further, let's assume they are innocent - he was still in the wrong. His job is not to decide guilt or innocence, his job is to secure the prisoners. The logic is no different than a jail in the US where a charged person is innocent until proven guilty. If the court has determined that there is substantial evidence of guilt or if the charged is a flight risk, that person can be held in jail until the outcome of their trial, even though they are still "innocent". The prison guards do not have the authority to make judgement calls on guilt or innocence and to pass contraband to those they deem innocent.
On a side note, when I was in the service I recall the a Colonel who was the commander of an MP (Military Police) unitl being arrested for shoplifting a leather jacket.