"These are four innocent guys, and it is completely justified," Bill Coffield, a lawyer for Evan Liberty, told the AP. The pardons are one of several the US president has granted to American service personnel and contractors accused or convicted of crimes against non-combatants and civilians in war zones. [21][75] In the memorandum opinion, Judge Urbina ruled the cases against Slough, Liberty, Heard, Ball, and Slatten had been improperly built on testimony given in exchange for immunity;[76] that evidence included statements the guards had been compelled to give to State Department investigators, and as these statements would have been self-incriminating, they could not be used as evidence under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. RT has asked experts to share their thoughts on what the incident meant for Washington's Middle East policy and the likelihood of another tragedy like this. Their route home was through Nisour Square. [68][69], On September 24, 2007, the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior announced it would file criminal charges against the Blackwater staff involved in the shooting, although it is unclear how some of them will be brought to trial. Mohammed and his sister screamed for their children to get down. [1][2][3] The killings outraged Iraqis and strained relations between Iraq and the United States. 3", is named Paul Slough. I represented the Kinani family and five other victims of the Blackwater guards who were convicted of killing at least 14 innocent Iraqi citizens that day and injured dozens more. The man that just spoken to him was dead. The Untold Truth Of The Blackwater Massacre - Grunge October 22 2014, 9:58 a.m. A federal jury in Washington, D.C., returned guilty verdicts against four . It wasnt. [73], The trial was set for early 2010,[74] but the charges were dismissed by United States District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Ricardo Urbina on December 31, 2009, who ruled that the Justice Department had mishandled evidence and violated the guards' constitutional rights. [95][96] Heard, Liberty, and Slough were resentenced on September 5, 2019 to terms approximately half the original 30-year periods. When Mohammed opened the door, his son fell toward him as his skull opened and a large part of Alis brain fell onto the pavement between his fathers feet. "They prefer animals over humans, and then they talk about human rights, justice and humanity," said an Iraqi man whose brother was among those killed in 2007. More were arriving in the backs of trucks. Mohammed turned his bullet-riddled SUV around and drove back to the closest hospital only a few blocks behind him. First ones from 16,000. Before VT Nuclear Education: The Beirut Nuclear Coverup, The Hidden History of the Incredibly Evil Khazarian Mafia. For those of you who are not aware, Erik Prince (Blackwater/Academi) personally sold to the CIA the concept of a mercenary army to conduct hybrid war ops and/or crypto-guerrilla war against Russia. And afterward, Iraqi citizens wanted to ensure that those who had done this were held responsible. "This was the slaughter of innocent civilians who were merely going about their day when a Blackwater convoy rolled through a traffic circle after having violated orders to stand down and not exit the Green Zone and began firing indiscriminately into cars that were carrying people going to work.". "It was obviously excessive", a U.S. military official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Washington Post. Adela Sulimanis a London-based reporter for NBC News Digital. In the sheer desperation to inflict maximum material damage to Russias security forces, however, NATO appears to have breached its own long-standing convention of curbing the proliferation of anti-aircraft munitions. They then set off stun grenades to clear the scene. The September 16, 2007 shootings by Blackwater mercenaries left 14 Iraqis dead and wounded 18 others in Baghdad's Nisour Square. [63] The suit was settled for an undisclosed sum in January 2010. President Donald Trump's decision to pardon four Blackwater private security contractors convicted of a massacre in Baghdad has been met with fury by the victims' families in Iraq. Three former employees of the US private military contractor once known as Blackwater were sentenced to 30 years in prison on Monday and a fourth received a life sentence . Each step of the way, the U.S. legal system ensured that these men were given fair and just prosecutions. A. [55], On April 1, 2009, the Associated Press reported that forensic tests on bullets were inconclusive. The massacre took place in 2007, when the four were working as guards for Blackwater, a private military contractor, on an assignment in Baghdad. The pardons could damage the United States' reputation abroad, as they undo the significance of the convictions, which had demonstrated that U.S. military contractors could be held accountable if they conducted criminal actions. They are coming to defend freedom, defend life. He never received treatment. Victims were everywhere. [87], On April 13, 2015, federal district judge Royce C. Lamberth sentenced Slatten to life in prison, while the other three guards were sentenced to 30 years in prison each. [25], A State Department spot report published the same day as the incident stated that eight to ten attackers opened fire on Raven 23 "from multiple nearby locations, with some aggressors dressed in civilian apparel and others in Iraqi police uniforms" after the convoy had entered Nisour Square,[26] starting at 12:08p.m.[27] The report added that another Blackwater Tactical Support Team (TST 22), who had escorted the officials and TST 4 back to the Green Zone, was redirected to support Raven 23. Former Blackwater guards sentenced for massacre of unarmed Iraqi [80], On April 22, 2011, after closed-door testimony, a federal appeals-court panel revived the Justice Department's prosecution of the former Blackwater Worldwide guards by reinstating the manslaughter charges against the five men. Trump's Blackwater Guard Pardons Cause Shock And Dismay : NPR [32] In response to the guards' killing of the Iraqi policeman, other Iraqi police officers began to fire at the Blackwater men, who communicated to the State Department operations center that they were under attack. Blackwater Guards Found Guilty in 2007 Iraq Killings Blackwater mercenaries sentenced for 2007 Iraq massacre Blackwater Trial: What You Need to Know - NBC News [72] A sixth Blackwater guard, Jeremy Ridgeway of California, struck a deal with prosecutors on December 4, 2008 and pleaded guilty to one count each of voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and aiding and abetting,[72][3] and agreed to testify against the other five men. [49], An Interior Ministry spokesman said Iraqi authorities had completed their investigation into the shooting and concluded that Blackwater guards were responsible for the deaths. They started out as a private security firm providing training support to law enforcement, the justice department, and military organizations and received their first contract from the United States government in 2000 after the bombing of the USS Cole. [50], On October 4, 2007, U.S. military reports indicated Blackwater's guards had opened fire without provocation and used excessive force. Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) - On Tuesday, Trump the Mad pardoned 4 Blackwater mercenaries who killed 14 Iraqi civilians, including a nine-year-old boy, with indiscriminate fire at Nisour Square in downtown Baghdad on September 14, 2007. [38] Waxman stated that "the controversy over Blackwater is an unfortunate demonstration of the perils of excessive reliance on private security contractors. Ukrainian POW Unveils, Russian forces eliminating Ukrainian saboteurs that violated border, Greetings from Oujda, Morocco, the City of Mosques, VT RADIO: Exposing East Palestine Train Derailment Disaster with VTs, VT RADIO: Foreign Policy Gone Mad with VTs Senior Editor, VT RADIO: UFOs, Aliens, & Chinese Balloons with VTs Jack, Many Predicted NATO Expansion Would Lead to War. Trump pardons Blackwater killers for Nisour Square massacre It was his business partner who lay in the pool of blood and was repeatedly shot. The four armed contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerry Zovko, Wesley Batalona, and Mike Teague, were killed and dragged from their vehicles. That notion has now been shown to be false, Dickinson says. The ones who were killed on the street were shot running for their lives. He lay in the hallway for an hour before he died. US pardons Blackwater guards: An 'affront to justice' - UN experts [54] He received an honorable discharge in 2002 and then enlisted in the Texas National Guard. ", "By investigating these crimes and completing legal proceedings, the US complied with its obligations under international law," she added. ", Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics, Jasem Mohammed Hashem, who was working as a police officer when he was shot in the head in the attack, was also disappointed by Trump's decision to free the men who, he said, "opened fire randomly at the citizens.". [46] On September 21, CNN reported that Blackwater would resume normal operations the following day. He is a regular contributor of diligently researched investigative reports to alternative news media. [23]:32 Shortly after assuming their positions, "Raven 23" began firing on civilians in response to an approaching car, killing fourteen and wounding twenty more. A former security guard working for US mercenary firm Blackwater has been found guilty of murder for his role in a notorious massacre of unarmed civilians in downtown Baghdad in 2007. Their cover: "return of Ukrainians from the French Foreign Legion.". Blackwater is an American private military company . Trumps pardon of the Blackwater mercenaries who murdered 14 Iraqi civilians at Nisour Square shows the world what justice means in the United States. Trump issued pardons for all four men on Tuesday. But he knew he was surviving as he kept yelling for the children in the back of his SUV to stay down. American troops invaded Iraq in 2003 and toppled Saddam Hussein's regime. He was shot in the abdomen. I know that each of them placed great faith in the U.S. legal system. I had never imagined that Trump or any other politician would affect American justice.". The only way these men could be brought to justice was in the United States. "Trump pardons Blackwater contractors jailed for massacre of Iraq civilians", 23 December 2020. "Today we were surprised that the American president issued a decision to pardon these criminals, murderers and thugs," Salman said, speaking from Baghdad. She turned the location into an exotic bookstore and caf, offering erotica readings, among other licentious pastimes. Majid Al Kareem was 51 years old when he was shot. "How are these criminals released after they killed 17 innocent people?" Monday's sentencing was. As many as 504 children, women and older men were killed by a US infantry company, members of which also raped numerous women and girls. Despite the public display of uncharacteristic valor by sporting military fatigues and flaunting images and video clips of soldiers proudly standing beside caches of MANPADS and Javelins on social media, Ukraines conscript army was so frightened following Russias military intervention that it wanted to surrender territory and opted instead for mounting guerrilla warfare by adopting hit-and-run tactics from the safety of border regions of Poland and Romania. Notorious mercenaries convicted of massacre in Iraq pardoned by Trump [54], Radio logs released in December 2008 seemed to affirm that the guards had been responding to an attack on September 16. Iraqi authorities say 17 people were killed; the Department of Justice has said the total was 14. There are numerous reported incidents of mass murder conducted by US soldiers, special forces. It is unfortunate and sad that those efforts have now been wasted. Four Blackwater operatives were found guilty one of murder in a 2007 Baghdad massacre. He had tried to run but was lying in a pool of blood killed by machine gunfire from the armored cars. It was an honor to represent these victims and their families. It looks at the rise of private security contractors such as Blackwater in the era of modern warfare. hide caption. [37], Blackwater, which had been operating in Iraq without an Iraqi government license, applied for one after the incident, but the application was rejected by Iraqi officials in January 2009. Blackwater was founded by ex-Navy SEAL Erik Prince in 1997 as a shooting range and military training ground in Moyock, North Carolina. If it is determined that one person was complicit in the wrongdoing, we would support accountability in that.
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