A military report on the cause of death of a Northland
soldier who died in hospital following an undisclosed
non-combat incident in Afghanistan eight months ago will not
be made public.
The Defence Force has completed its inquiry into the death of
Corporal Douglas Hughes, who died while off-duty at the
Romero Forward Patrol Base in Bamiyan province on April 3.
A media release yesterday said the Defence Force understood
the circumstances surrounding Corporal Hughes' death, but the
report of the military court of inquiry into the fatality had
been passed to the coroner, who would independently assess
the circumstances surrounding the death.
Defence Force media team manager Ally Clelland told the
Advocate the Defence Force had decided not to issue the
inquiry report in this instance.
"Each court of inquiry is dealt with on a case by case basis
and the circumstances around the death of Corporal Hughes are
not of such public interest that this outweighs important
privacy considerations," she said.
"The decision not to release the inquiry report is also in
accordance with the wishes of Corporal Hughes' family."
Corporal Hughes was buried at Pakotai, 50km northwest of
Whangarei.
- The Northern Advocate
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