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The four armored vehicles drove away. 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 . But Trump reached a peace agreement with the Taliban and then lost the re-election bid before he could consider the bizarre proposal. Who would hold party elites accountable to the values they proclaim to have? and thus prosecution by U.S. Blackwater mercenaries in helicopters also fired into traffic from overhead. He told NPR on Wednesday that he was shocked by Trump's pardons he himself had made trips to the U.S. to give testimony in the proceedings against the four. His mother also suffered a stroke, he added. [1] Russian forces seize huge Ukrainian nuclear plant, fire extinguisher: https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/top-wrap-1-europes-largest-nuclear-power-plant-fire-after-russian-attack-mayor-2022-03-04/. My law firm received a call from an immigration attorney the next year seeking representation for the Blackwaters victims, and I was eventually retained to represent the Kinani family in a civil lawsuit against Blackwater, Prince, and various other Blackwater companies and, of course, the men who were charged and eventually convicted of murder, manslaughter, and weapons charges for their conduct. 2004 Fallujah ambush - Wikipedia The security industry has evolved drastically since those events, and under the direction of new ownership and leadership, Academi has invested heavily in compliance and ethics programmes, training for our employees, and preventative measures to strictly comply with all US and local government laws.. Machine gunfire tore through his body. Convoy Attacked in Baghdad, Sparking a Shootout", "3 Blackwater Guards Called Baghdad Shootings Unjustified", "Blackwater Denies Any Wrongdoing in Shooting Incident (Update1)", "Iraqi leader urges U.S. to cancel Blackwater contract", "Iraqi Investigators say Videotape Shows Blackwater Guards Fired Without Aggravation", "House Passes Bill That Would Hike Penalties for U.S. Security Contractors in Iraq", "Private Security Company Association Iraq", "Iraqi Government Disputes Blackwater USA's Version of Shooting", "Iraq battle was self-defense, security firm says", "FBI takes lead in probe over Blackwater crisis", "Blackwater most often shoots first, congressional report says", "Report: Blackwater Killings Unjustified", "From Texas to Iraq, and Center of Blackwater Case", No forensic match for ammo in Blackwater shooting, "The Associated Press: APNewsBreak: Blackwater founder questions FBI work", "Overcoming post-colonial myopia: A call to recognize and regulate private military companie"s, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Army, "Wounded Iraqis: 'No one did anything' to provoke Blackwater", "Blackwater incident witness: 'It was hell', Family Members of Slain Iraqis Sue Blackwater USA for Deadly Baghdad Shooting, "Blackwater Verdict a U.S. 'Snub' of Iraqi Leader Nouri al-Maliki: Kayhan, Islamic Republic of Iran", "White House: Contractor bill would have 'intolerable' effects", "Blackwater settles Nisoor Square lawsuit", "5 Blackwater guards face manslaughter charges", "Blackwater Guard in Secret Deal to Testify in Massacre Case", "US judge sets trial in 2010 for Blackwater guards", "Appeals court revives Blackwater shooting case", "US judge dismisses charges in Blackwater Iraq killings", "Reopening of Blackwater Case Confuses Iraqi Victims", "Biden Says U.S. Will Appeal Blackwater Case Dismissal (Published 2010)", "ICD - Slough et al. Those Warnings Were Ignored, How Russia Will Counterpunch U.S./EU Declaration of War, Khazarian Mafia at War: The Jewish Oligarch Who Planned the Terror Attack on Bryansk, Covert Operations In Vietnam: The Incomplete History of US-Norway Collaboration. He was told that he had to go to a neurologic hospital on the other side of Baghdad. Nasser's younger brother, Mahdi Saheb Nasser, was 22 and working as a taxi driver when he was killed in September 2007 alongside other unarmed civilians in Baghdad's Nisur Square. Bullets were everywhere. Let us assume that I travel to America and kill 17 American citizens. The Nisour Square massacre was the FBI's most comprehensive and expensive criminal investigation since 9/11. [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. The four guards Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, Dustin Heard and Nicholas Slatten were part of an armoured convoy that opened fire indiscriminately with machine-guns, grenade launchers and a sniper on a crowd of unarmed people in a square in the Iraqi capital. He saw the man next to him run. [2] Reactions [ edit] Blackwater and the Corporate Mercenaries who've - NationofChange [92] However, the court then found that the mandatory minimum sentences as applied to the defendants were unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishments, over the partial dissent of Judge Judith W. In their view, this confirmed that they were under attack by a vehicle bomb, whereupon they fired at the car, killing both people in it as well as the Iraqi policeman. [14] The Iraqi government vowed to punish Blackwater. [40] The US House passed a bill, titled the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, that would make all private contractors working in Iraq and other combat zones subject to prosecution by U.S. Why Is Assange in Jail and Not Seymour Hersh? [37][38] The incident caused Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to call on the U.S. government to end its contract with Blackwater USA,[39] and for the Iraqi government to push for an apology, compensation for victims or their families and for the guards involved in the shooting to be held "accountable". He was shot while seated in a public bus. More than 3,000 troops remain in Iraq, according to defense officials, with a drawdown scheduled for January. [54] He served one tour in Iraq before being hired as a Personal Security Specialist in Iraq. [14], On October 2, 2007, the Democratic staff of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a report stating that Blackwater USA guards had used deadly force weekly in Iraq and had inflicted "significant casualties and property damage". [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. Abraham Al Mafrage was a 70-year-old farmer and father of seven who was also shot in the head and died that day. After the convictions, Blackwater which changed its name to Xe and then Academi after being sold said it was relieved that the justice system has completed its investigation into a tragedy that occurred at Nisour Square in 2007 and that any wrongdoing that was carried out has been addressed by our courts. He was shot in the abdomen. He was driving on flat tires and with a shattered windshield. December 23, 2020 at 2:57 pm. The State Department announced an American-Iraqi joint commission to investigate both the shooting and the broader issue of employing private security contractors. [36], On September 19, as a result of the incident, the United States temporarily suspended all land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials in Iraq outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. Slough, Liberty and Heard were convicted on multiple charges of voluntary and attempted manslaughter in 2014, while Slatten, who was the first to start shooting, was convicted of first-degree murder. The incident happened at the height of the "military surge" ordered by the then President George W. Bush to bring the armed resistance against the occupation in Iraq under control. Blackwater Trial: What You Need to Know - NBC News "Today we were surprised that the American president issued a decision to pardon these criminals, murderers and thugs," Salman said, speaking from Baghdad. This is not for the faint of heart but allegedly a video from the Ukraine conflict at a check-point at Mariupol which is surrounded by Russian troops. The four were convicted at then VP Joe Biden's insistence, and were serving jail terms. Hassan Salman is among the Iraqis who were shot during the ambush. Prosecutors argued the men did not face hostile gunfire when they began shooting, and continued to shoot despite the lack of threats. None of the bullets the lab had available could be matched to the rifles used by the guards. - Asser Institute (Decision Date: 31 December 2009)", "Ex-Blackwater Guards Face Renewed Charges", "Blackwater guards face new U.S. charges for Iraq shooting deaths", "Legal questions loom in Blackwater convictions", "Blackwater guards found guilty in Iraq shootings", "Emails Reveal Discord Over Blackwater Charges", "Ex-Blackwater Guards Sentenced to Long Prison Terms in 2007 Killings of Iraqi Civilians", "U.S. Appeals Court Tosses Ex-Blackwater Guard's Conviction in 2007 Baghdad Massacre", "Murder conviction in Blackwater case thrown out, other sentences overturned", "In Blackwater Case, Court Rejects a Murder Conviction and Voids 3 Sentences", Recent Case: D.C. It was an honor to represent these victims and their families. "Pardoning them contributes to impunity and has the effect of emboldening others to commit such crimes in the future. [44] Blackwater's operations on behalf of the U.S. Department of State and the CIA may be unaffected by license revocation. Scores of Iraqis injured in anti-government protests in Baghdad, Who will protect us?: Baghdad residents wait out fighting as city grinds to halt, Iraqi cleric tells loyalists to return to their homes after fighting in Baghdad, Deadly violence in Baghdad after leading cleric Moqtada al-Sadr says he is quitting politics, Shia factions mass in Baghdad raising fears of more unrest, Protesters storm Iraq parliament again amid unrest over Iran-backed groups, Iran may eventually get its way in protracted power struggle in Iraq, Hundreds of protesters storm Iraq parliament in support of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, Briton jailed in Iraq for smuggling antiquities to be freed, says lawyer. )[60], Baghdad resident Halim Mashkoor told AP Television News, "We see the security firms doing whatever they want in the streets. In 2014, four former government contractors who worked for Blackwater Worldwide, a security firm founded by Erik Prince an ally of Trump and the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos were convicted in federal court in Washington in connection with the killings. When he arrived at the hospital, it was a war zone. [89][90][91] The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's fractured per curiam decision first found that Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act authorized the prosecutions, over the partial dissent of Judge Janice Rogers Brown. In his testimony, Prince noted that, "It seems the ballistics analysis was done to prove the guilt of the Americans, not to just try to identify what happened there." First ones from 16,000. [19] According to this account, the security team fired warning shots and then lethal fire at the Kia. [48] According to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice promised a "fair and transparent" investigation into the incident. When Slattens conviction was overturned, I was concerned that the case would be ignored. 3", is named Paul Slough. However, the company was allowed to continue to operate in Iraq until January 2009 when the U.S.Iraq Status of Forces Agreement took effect. He was shot through the roof of his car as the Blackwater convoy drove past firing down into traffic. hide caption. If it is determined that one person was complicit in the wrongdoing, we would support accountability in that. The Iraqi government ordered Blackwater to leave Iraq as soon as a joint Iraqi-U.S. committee finished drafting new guidelines on private contractors under the Iraqi-U.S. security agreement. Dickinson says that the victims' families are likely to feel let down and abandoned by the U.S. government. Ali was slumped over against the glass. Machine gunfire would cause his lifeless body to shake in his pool of blood. Four guards fired on unarmed crowd in Baghdad in 2007, killing 14 and sparking outrage over use of private security in war zones. Trump Pardons Blackwater 4 for Nisour Square Massacre in Iraq, because That day changed my life forever. By signing up, I agree to receive emails from The Intercept and to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. And afterward, Iraqi citizens wanted to ensure that those who had done this were held responsible. "I consider what the security company personnel have done is a terrorist act, as many civilians were martyred and wounded," said Hashem, 41, a father of five who was partially disabled and forced to retire after the incident. October 22 2014, 9:58 a.m. A federal jury in Washington, D.C., returned guilty verdicts against four . That may be the overriding damage caused by these pardons. I felt I had done that, and I knew the prosecutors were doing that. Trump's pardon of Blackwater contractors convicted of massacre greeted Following Russias intervention in Ukraine, Germany alone hasproudly bragged[4] of dispatching caches of 500 US-made surface-to-air Stinger missiles and 2,700 Soviet-era, shoulder-fired Strelamissiles to Ukraines conscript military. [82][20] On June 5, 2012, the US Supreme Court declined to review the Appeal Court ruling, allowing the trial to proceed. "[51][52][53], On January 19, 2008, The New York Times reported that the contractor responsible for many of the deaths in the engagement, previously known only as "turret gunner no. A caption at the bottom of the screen states . Trump's pardon of mercenaries guilty of massacre in Iraq leads to Lead FBI investigator in Blackwater case likens Iraq massacre to My Lai For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. The US government said in a memorandum filed after the sentencing: None of the victims was an insurgent, or posed any threat to the Raven 23 convoy. The memorandum also contained quotations from relatives of the dead, including Mohammad Kinani, whose nine-year-old son Ali was killed. Former Blackwater mercenary convicted of Baghdad civilian massacre "This was Baghdad's Bloody Sunday," Dickinson told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly on Wednesday. They left in 2011 but returned in 2014 after the Islamic State militant group overran large parts of the country. President Donald Trump pardoned four former Blackwater mercenaries on Tuesday who had been convicted for their role in the Nisour Square massacre that left 14 people dead in Baghdad in 2007. Blackwater Guards Found Guilty in 2007 Iraq Killings Mohammed and his sister screamed for their children to get down. Opinion | Trump's Most Disgusting Pardons - The New York Times Mohammed forced a doctor to look at Ali. In 2002, Blackwater received its first contract from the United States government. IE 11 is not supported. [19] The three justifiable killings were those of the two passengers in the white Kia sedan and an unidentified Iraqi nearby. The incident was allegedly resolved only after another Blackwater contractor pointed his weapon at the man still firing and ordered him to stop. His domains of expertise include neocolonialism, military-industrial complex, and petro-imperialism. To understand the carnage that happened on the streets that day, you need to hear it in Mohammeds words as he explained it to me. [93], On December 19, 2018, Slatten was found guilty of murder[94] and again was sentenced to life in prison on August 14, 2019. Russian Forces strike Ukrainian Armys Electronic Intelligence Center in Kiev Region. A burnt car at the site where Blackwater guards opened fire on a crowd in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2007. LONDON and BAGHDAD -- When news broke that Mohammed Kinani's son's killers, Blackwater private military contractors hired by the U.S. government in Baghdad, were pardoned Wednesday by President Trump, Kinani said it was like losing his 9-year-old boy all over again. Each time the criminal charges were seemed lost, the U.S. Department of Justice told them they were not forgotten that we would continue to pursue the convictions of those who committed the crimes against them. The U.N. Human Rights Office says it's "deeply concerned" by the pardons. Nisour Square massacre - Wikipedia The Nisour Square massacre was one of the most publicized US crimes of the 8-year Iraq war. The efforts of the investigators, the prosecutors, and the men and women who supported them was immeasurable. "These four individuals were given sentences ranging from 12 years to life imprisonment, including on charges of first-degree murder," spokesperson Marta Hurtado said in a statement. How many covert wars, miscarriages of justice, and dystopian technologies would remain hidden if our reporters werent on the beat? [37] A senior aide to al-Maliki said that three of the Blackwater guards were Iraqis and could be subject to prosecution. Trump Pardons Blackwater Contractors Who Killed Iraqis Trumps pardon of the Blackwater mercenaries who murdered 14 Iraqi civilians at Nisour Square shows the world what justice means in the United States. In November last year, he pardoned a former US army commando who was set to stand trial over the killing of a suspected Afghan bomb-maker, and a former army lieutenant convicted of murder for ordering his men to fire at three Afghans. Dozens of witnesses were brought to the United States to testify about what happened. Blackwater is an American private military company . But NATOs covert operators embedded with Ukraines security forces reassured them that the war wasnt over and implored them to give their Western mentors a face-saving by mounting at least a semblance of resistance against the fierce onslaught by Russias professional security forces.