NICOSIA, Cyprus - A Cyprus court fined and released two Canadian soldiers on Wednesday after they admitted to attacking a British man outside a pub in a coastal resort town, court officials said.
The soldiers, on leave after a combat tour in Afghanistan, avoided jail after pleading guilty to assaulting a 31-year-old British national early Saturday.
A Paphos court fined Guillaume Simon, 25, $3,000 for causing bodily harm and Matthew Louis Pelletier, 30, $750 for common assault.
A Canadian Forces spokesman said the soldiers are based in Rimouski, Que., and Gagetown, N.B., respectively.
A Canadian Forces spokesman in Ottawa said the soldiers paid the fine and would remain on the Mediterranean island "for the time being.''
The two are among hundreds of Canadian troops spending a few days in Paphos to "decompress'' -- a military term for readjusting to civilian life after serving in a combat zone.
"The members of the Canadian Forces are highly trained professionals who are respectful and grateful for the opportunity to visit Cyprus for a short stay before returning to their families in Canada,'' Maj. Jonathan Diderich said in a statement.
It's the third year in a row that Canadian soldiers returning from Afghanistan are decompressing in Cyprus.
Diderich said more than 2,000 soldiers have undergone decompression in Paphos over the past six months and that there had been "no similar incidents reported to date.''
James Sanford suffered cuts and bruises in the Saturday evening attack.
Sanford was out with his wife and says the two soldiers made advances on her.
After words were exchanged, one of the soldiers struck him with a bottle, cutting him for a dozen stitches.
