Kyle Brown (Canadian soldier)
Encyclopedia
Private
Kyle Brown was a Canadian soldier
implicated in the death in custody of Somali
teenager Shidane Arone.
The Canadian supply depot in Somalia
was being looted and Arone was suspected of being one of the looters. Master Corporal
Clayton Matchee
took a lead role in Arone's torture and murder.
The teenager's screams were reported to have been heard throughout the camp. Matchee was taken into custody, tried to hang himself, but only succeeded in causing himself irreversible brain damage
.
Because of this he was deemed unfit to stand trial. Brown, who played a secondary role, was convicted of manslaughter, and was sentenced to five years imprisonment, along with Dismissal with Disgrace from the Canadian Forces
. He served one third of his five year sentence.
Brown later published a book in which he presented a case wherein he had been made the scapegoat for the incident and the officers who had not intervened were not brought to justice.
An official inquiry in 1997 considered whether mefloquine
, an anti-malarial drug that troops were taking, known to trigger psychotic symptoms in sensitive individuals, played a role in Arone's abuse, though the results were inconclusive.
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
Kyle Brown was a Canadian soldier
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
implicated in the death in custody of Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
teenager Shidane Arone.
The Canadian supply depot in Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
was being looted and Arone was suspected of being one of the looters. Master Corporal
Master Corporal
Master Corporal , in the Canadian Forces and the Royal Canadian Army Cadets is an appointment of the rank of Corporal in the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Airforce...
Clayton Matchee
Clayton Matchee
Master Corporal Clayton Matchee is a former Canadian soldier and a central figure in the Somalia Affair.A member of the Cree Flying Dust First Nation reserve, Matchee is one of five children. He joined the Canadian Forces in 1984, and moved into the elite Airborne Regiment in 1988...
took a lead role in Arone's torture and murder.
The teenager's screams were reported to have been heard throughout the camp. Matchee was taken into custody, tried to hang himself, but only succeeded in causing himself irreversible brain damage
Brain damage
"Brain damage" or "brain injury" is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors...
.
Because of this he was deemed unfit to stand trial. Brown, who played a secondary role, was convicted of manslaughter, and was sentenced to five years imprisonment, along with Dismissal with Disgrace from the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
. He served one third of his five year sentence.
Brown later published a book in which he presented a case wherein he had been made the scapegoat for the incident and the officers who had not intervened were not brought to justice.
An official inquiry in 1997 considered whether mefloquine
Mefloquine
Mefloquine hydrochloride is an orally administered medication used in the prevention and treatment of malaria. Mefloquine was developed in the 1970s at the United States Department of Defense's Walter Reed Army Institute of Research as a synthetic analogue of quinine...
, an anti-malarial drug that troops were taking, known to trigger psychotic symptoms in sensitive individuals, played a role in Arone's abuse, though the results were inconclusive.