Canadian Forces Capt. Robert Semrau was accused of killing a severely wounded insurgent during an encounter in Afghanistan's Helmand province in October 2008. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

Capt. Robert Semrau has been found guilty by a military panel of disgraceful conduct but not guilty of second-degree murder in the death of a wounded Afghan insurgent.

The charge of behaving in a disgraceful manner carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. Semrau's lawyers will be back in court Tuesday to present a Charter of Rights argument over military sentencing procedures.

The panel in Gatineau, Que., handed down the decision Monday. It came after three days of deliberations in the court martial of the Canadian Forces captain charged in a battlefield death in Afghanistan.

Semrau, 36, was accused of firing two rounds from his rifle into a dying Taliban fighter in Helmand province of Afghanistan in October 2008.

A question from the jury about evidence kept lawyers arguing for hours, preventing a verdict on the weekend.

Semrau never testified, but an Afghan army captain, who was on the patrol with Semrau, testified the Taliban fighter was "98 per cent dead" when he was found.

In addition to the disgraceful conduct charge, Semrau was charged with three other offences, including second-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 years, the alternate charge of attempting to commit murder with a firearm and negligent performance of a military duty. He was also found not guilty of the latter two charges.

Now based at CFB Petawawa, the married father of two young children grew up in Moose Jaw, Sask.