[19] The three justifiable killings were those of the two passengers in the white Kia sedan and an unidentified Iraqi nearby. Extending the hand of friendship, Russia significantly drawdown its forces along the western border before the summit last year. Dickinson says the great expense that the FBI put into the prosecution of the case has now come to nothing. Dozens of witnesses were brought to the United States to testify about what happened on September 16, 2007. They are coming to defend freedom, defend life. The convictions made the victims feel that justice had been obtained. The news shows the helicopter falling to the ground as it burns. [16] The FBI investigation found that, of the 17 Iraqis killed by the guards, at least 14 were shot without cause. [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. Trump pardons Blackwater contractors jailed for massacre of Iraq When Mohammed looked to his right, the driver of the car next to him shouted that the soldiers had just shot into another car in front of them. That may be the overriding damage caused by these pardons. Three Ex-Blackwater Guards Are Resentenced in Iraq War Massacre The men will serve about half of their original 30-year sentences for their roles in a 2007 shooting of unarmed civilians in Iraq . Among the pardons made by President Trump this week, the pardon of four former guards for Blackwater has been regarded by some as particularly galling. 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. [1][2][3] The killings outraged Iraqis and strained relations between Iraq and the United States. ", Human Rights Watch says the pardons "show contempt for the rule of law.". https://www.ournewearthnews.com/2022/03/04/massacre-in-ukraine-caught-on-camera-and-probably-still-unfolding-viewer-discretion-advised-please-pray/. [77] "Prosecutors should therefore have built their case against the men without them", a BBC report explained. However, after "Raven 23" entered Nisour Square, Watson was ordered to "lock down the traffic circle to expedite the travel of [the other Blackwater team]". [15] The incident sparked at least five investigations, including one from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The order did not say when the suspension would expire. [44] Blackwater's operations on behalf of the U.S. Department of State and the CIA may be unaffected by license revocation. Before VT Nuclear Education: The Beirut Nuclear Coverup, The Hidden History of the Incredibly Evil Khazarian Mafia. The result is not just that we see an injustice in the United States, but that the world must surely see cracks in the pillars of justice upon which our system is based. [14] The Iraqi government vowed to punish Blackwater. 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. [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. [12] The U.S. State Department has said that "innocent life was lost",[13] and according to The Washington Post, a military report appeared to corroborate "the Iraqi government's contention that Blackwater was at fault". The logs depicted "a hectic eight minutes in which the guards repeatedly reported incoming gunfire from insurgents and Iraqi police". The Blackwater Shooting (2007) | The New York Times - YouTube "With those sentences reversed by the stroke of a pen, who will trust the American justice system again?". But its the much more subtle and insidious tactic of economic warfare for which Russia has no antidote, as the global neocolonial order is being led by the United States and its Western European clients since the signing of the Bretton Woods Accord in 1945 following the Second World War. Mohammed knew his sons injuries were fatal, but he had to try. "Before he died, he went crazy as he used to go out into the street and whenever he saw a young man, he imagined that he was Mahdi," he said. security contractors who had previously been sentenced over the death of 17 Iraqi civilians in the 2007 Nisur Square massacre . The pardons have reduced American talk of human rights to mere "slogans," he said, adding, "They prefer animals over humans, and then they talk about human rights, justice and humanity. The hospital was too busy. 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. hide caption. The killing of innocent civilians, including two young boys, sparked international outrage and public scrutiny into the use of private military companies . U.S. military reports appear to corroborate the Iraqi government's contention that Blackwater was at fault in the incident. "I'm really shocked. Why Is Assange in Jail and Not Seymour Hersh? The Nisour Square massacre was the FBI's most comprehensive and expensive criminal investigation since 9/11. [101][102] The Iraqi Foreign Ministry urged the United States to reconsider, declaring the pardons "did not take into account the seriousness of the crime committed".[103]. Five independent UN experts condemned United States President Donald Trump's pardoning of private security contractors, convicted in 2015 for war crimes in Iraq, on Wednesday. During the litigation, an appeal was ongoing in the 4h Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia. Blackwater and its employees had been given immunity from any criminal or civil exposure in Iraq that was part of Princes contract with the State Department. He was shot while seated in a public bus. "Paul Slough and his colleagues didn't deserve to spend one minute in prison," Brian Heberlig, a lawyer for Slough, told The Associated Press. Former Blackwater guards sentenced for massacre of unarmed Iraqi Dec. 24, 2020 Mohammed Hafedh Abdulrazzaq Kinani with a photo of his 9-year-old son, Ali, who was killed by Blackwater. Mohammed was glad Saddams reign of terror was finally ending. Donald Trump has pardoned the four contractors jailed over the killing of 14 civilians. Nicholas Slatten, Evan Liberty, Paul Slough and Devin Heard were convicted on charges of first-degree murder and manslaughter by a federal jury in October 2014. In addition to the Kinani family, I represented five other families and victims. He was in the car next to Mohammed. ", "After years of waiting, the victims finally saw justice served when these men were convicted," she said in an email. - 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. What Is Blackwater? "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. [26][27] A U.S. Army convoy arrived at 12:39p.m., backed by air cover, to escort TST 22 back to the Green Zone. [17], Just before noon on September 16, 2007, a car bomb exploded near the Izdihar Compound where US and Iraqi officials were meeting,[20]:547 and a 19-man Blackwater Tactical Support Team (TST) consisting of a convoy of four trucks, answering to the call sign "Raven 23", took up positions on the south side of Nisour Square to secure an evacuation route for the US officials and another Blackwater team providing security for them. He was shot in the abdomen. "It was obviously excessive", a U.S. military official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Washington Post. 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. He was shot through the roof of his car as the Blackwater convoy drove past firing down into traffic. (Iraqi police) or any of the local security forces fired back at them", the official continued. Shots were fired everywhere. My clients assuredly feel ignored, mistreated, and used. I commented when the convictions were first brought that I was certain my clients who were still residents of Iraq were pleased to know that justice had been served. This includes the right to see perpetrators serve punishments proportionate to the seriousness of their conduct. Trump's Blackwater Guard Pardons Cause Shock And Dismay : NPR Supporters of the former contractors at Blackwater Worldwide had lobbied for the pardons, arguing that the men had been excessively punished. [10][11] The next day, Blackwater Worldwide's license to operate in Iraq was temporarily revoked. The incident was allegedly resolved only after another Blackwater contractor pointed his weapon at the man still firing and ordered him to stop. [54] He served one tour in Iraq before being hired as a Personal Security Specialist in Iraq. About the author:Nauman Sadiq is an Islamabad-based geopolitical and national security analyst focused on geostrategic affairs and hybrid warfare in the Af-Pak and the Middle East regions. Notorious mercenaries convicted of massacre in Iraq pardoned by Trump Volodymyr Zelenskyreassured his compatriots[2] yesterday: Ukraine is already welcoming foreign volunteers who are coming to our country. [25][31], The account by the Blackwater firm differed from the Iraqi government's account; Blackwater's account stated the driver of the Kia sedan had kept driving toward the convoy, ignoring verbal orders, hand signals, and water bottles thrown at the car, and continued to approach even when fired upon. Defence lawyers argued their clients returned fire after being ambushed by Iraqi insurgents. Iraqi police and Iraqi Army soldiers, mistaking the stun grenades for fragmentation grenades, opened fire at the Blackwater men, to which they responded. I sued Blackwater, its founder Erik Prince, and the four men who were convicted of murder, manslaughter, or weapons charges in a civil lawsuit filed in North Carolina, the home of Blackwaters headquarters and training facility in Moyock. An initial prosecution was thrown out by a federal judge sparking outrage in Iraq but the then vice-president, Joe Biden, promised to pursue a fresh prosecution, which succeeded in 2015. "Victims of gross human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law also have the right to a remedy. Who would be responsible for the myopic and vindictive policy of providing anti-aircraft munitions to Ukraines irregular militias once Kyiv falls and those MANPADS are found in black markets posing a grave risk to civilian airlines across the globe? U.S. troops were coming under fire in Baghdad and major Iraqi cities from the resistance forces. Nasser, who attended the 2014 trial in the United States, said his brother's death had broken his father's heart. A 20,000-strong mercenary army is being assembled in Poland. Not a one! Blackwater Mercenaries Filmed on a Rampage in Iraq & Shooting Civilians from WarPosting After being leaked by a former employee of the notorious PMC, the footage dated April 2006 was featured in a piece called "The Warrior Class" by Charles Glass. When he arrived at the hospital, it was a war zone. "How are these criminals released after they killed 17 innocent people?" 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. "[29], On October 4, 2007, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that it would be taking the lead in the investigation of the shooting incident. The massacre resulted in the deaths of 17 unarmed Iraqis and wounded at least 20 others. [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/. Bulk comes from private military companies of the Blackwater/Academi kind. Free shipping for many products! [37] A senior aide to al-Maliki said that three of the Blackwater guards were Iraqis and could be subject to prosecution. As shootings in the square were not uncommon, it is unclear whether the shells were from the shooting in question or from other incidents. Hassan Salman is among the Iraqis who were shot during the ambush. I had never imagined that Trump or any other politician would affect American justice.". [45] Also, it is not clear whether the license revocation is permanent. Hussein Saheb Nasser, 35, told NBC News by telephone from his home in Baghdad on Wednesday. In 2002, Blackwater received its first contract from the United States government. Are they going to release me?". A State Department employee who was walking into the department's Baghdad operations center on the day of the incident heard a radio call from the convoy: "Contact, contact, contact! They could not do anything for him. As Mohammed held his sons hand, he convulsed and died in the back of the ambulance. He received poor treatment because his injuries were less life threatening, but he was left with a disfigured and useless arm. Machine gunfire would cause his lifeless body to shake in his pool of blood. The fire has since been extinguished after the plant was captured by Russian troops and no radiation leakage has been detected. Only. Blackwater Mercenaries Sentenced for 2007 Iraq Massacre Blackwater Mercenaries: NATO's Secret Weapon in Ukraine War They claimed they were fired on, but. The four armored vehicles drove away. [41], On September 18, 2007, an Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman said Blackwater is "not allowed to operate anywhere in the Republic of Iraq". Nicholas Slatten, 35, was a former security guard at the private US military firm Blackwater and was based in Baghdad. Then-Vice President Joe Biden held a press conference to tell the citizens of Iraq that they would not be abandoned. The Blackwater guards appeared to have fired grenade launchers in addition to machine guns, according to the report. [63], A U.S. judge's decision to dismiss all charges against Blackwater on January 1, 2010, sparked outrage in the Arab world. After selling Blackwater to a group of investors in 2010, Erik Prince, a former US Navy Seals officer and the swashbuckling founder of Blackwater, has founded another security company Frontier Services Group, registered at Hong Kong Stock Exchange, that advises and provides aviation and logistical solutions to Chinese oligarchs for the security of their lucrative business projects in Africa. [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. [70] A second civil lawsuit filed jointly by the families of six victims against Blackwater was settled on January 6, 2012 for an undisclosed sum. [4] In 2014, four Blackwater employees were tried[5] and convicted in U.S. federal court; one of murder, and the other three of manslaughter and firearms charges;[6] all four convicted were controversially pardoned[7] by President Donald Trump in December 2020,[8] in violation of international law. Blackwater mercenary Nicholas Slatten sentenced to life in prison for Joining is simple and doesnt need to cost a lot: You can become a sustaining member for as little as $3 or $5 a month. [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. Blackwater Mercenaries: NATOs Secret Weapon in Ukraine War, VT RADIO: Alternative Foreign Policy Talk, Khazarian Mafia at War: The Jewish Oligarch Who Planned the Terror, Russias Future Predicted by Well-Known Christian Saints, Most Front-Line Ukrainian Soldiers Killed Within 4 Hours, How Russia managed to survive Western sanctions, How War Began The Genesis of NATOs Coup in Ukraine , From Global Warming Denial to Holocaust Denial, On this day in 1940, Woody Guthrie writes This Land Is, Former U.S. President Carter to Hospice, Will Pariah Trump Attend State, Dr. Fauci Admits COVID Shots Didnt Have A Chance Of Controlling. [43], The Private Security Company Association of Iraq, in a document last updated on July 3, 2007, listed Blackwater as not having a license to operate in Iraq despite their attempts to apply for one. 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. December 23, 2020 at 2:57 pm. It wasnt. He was left with shrapnel in his body from the rocket launched grenade that was fired into his vehicle as he escaped. [14], On October 13, 2007, the FBI reported that it had concluded that at least 14 of the 17 Iraqis who died in the square had been killed without cause. That wasnt unusual. ", Trump Grants Slew Of Pardons, Including To George Papadopoulos And Duncan Hunter, Blackwater Guards Found Guilty In 2007 Shootings In Iraq, Lawyer For Victims' Families On Trump Pardoning 4 Former Blackwater Contractors. [79] Three weeks later, Vice President Joe Biden, who was overseeing U.S. policy in Iraq, promised Iraqi leaders the U.S. would appeal the dismissal of these charges. [62] After a group of Iraqi ministers backed the Iraqi Interior Ministry's decision to shut down Blackwater USA's operations in Iraq,[29] Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called on the U.S. government to end its contract with Blackwater[39] and called on Blackwater to pay the families $8million in compensation. Each step of the way, the U.S. legal system ensured that these men were given fair and just prosecutions. [82][20] On June 5, 2012, the US Supreme Court declined to review the Appeal Court ruling, allowing the trial to proceed. Trump Pardons Blackwater Contractors Who Killed Iraqis [100] UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Marta Hurtado said that forgiveness "contributes to impunity and has the effect of encouraging others to commit such crimes in the future". On January 31, 2009, the U.S. State Department notified Blackwater that it would not be renewing its security contract with the company. When #Blackwater mercenaries were murdering civilians in the #IraqWar, did these voices demand seizure of yachts owned by CEO Erik Prince? We dont have ads, so we depend on our members 35,000 and counting to help us hold the powerful to account. His domains of expertise include neocolonialism, military-industrial complex, and petro-imperialism. The Nisour Square massacre was one of the lowest episodes of the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. 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. Mohammed had not been shot. The committee was co-chaired by Abd al Qadir, the Iraqi Minister of Defense, and Patricia A. Butenis, the Charg d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. An Iraqi looks at a burned car in Nisour Square in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Yarmukh, on Sept. 24, 2007, eight days after Blackwater guards who were escorting U.S. Embassy officials opened fire there. "[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. Constellis did not immediately respond to requests for comment. [8][98] A White House statement said the men had a "long history of service to the nation" as veterans of the US Armed Forces, and that there was strong support for the pardons from the public and elected officials. Its worth recalling that before the Biden-Putin summit at Geneva last June, Russia had a similar troop build-up along Ukraines borders. Further, besides advising and assisting the UAEs petro-monarchy in strengthening the police state, Erik Prince alsoreportedly provided[3] weapons and modified aircraft to eastern Libyas warlord and former CIA asset Khalifa Haftar, backed by Egypt and UAE, in his thwarted military campaign against the Tripoli government lasting from April 2019 to June 2020. Four Blackwater operatives were found guilty one of murder in a 2007 Baghdad massacre. 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. Blackwater Trial: What You Need to Know - NBC News It is unfortunate and sad that those efforts have now been wasted. [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". 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. Thats all it takes to support the journalism you rely on. For us, for everyone. Thats what lawyers do in the United States: We fight for those who cant fight for themselves. 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. The Iraqi government condemned the pardons, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying in a statement late on Wednesday that it would follow up with the U.S. through diplomatic channels to urge a reconsideration. "These are four innocent guys, and it is completely justified," Bill Coffield, a lawyer for Evan Liberty, told the AP. 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. Being so close to the Green Zone, he thought someone important might be entering or leaving the area. 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. And it will be a success, Im sure. But unsurprisingly, he did not describe who those thousands of daredevil volunteers willing to sacrifice lives and limbs in a foreign war were. When Blackwater security guard Nicholas Slatten was tried and convicted for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, the U.S. legal system determined that he needed a new trial. [21]:116, During opening arguments for a criminal trial held in 2014, defense lawyers representing former Blackwater members of Raven 23 argued the men felt the approaching Kia was a credible threat as a possible car bomb, and opened fire in self-defense. Let us assume that I travel to America and kill 17 American citizens. Survivors and victims' relatives of a 2007 shooting in Iraq by Blackwater contractors meet with United States prosecutors in Baghdad in 2008. The Blackwater guards were firing indiscriminately. Video of the aftermath includes an image of a human brain on the road in Nisour Square. Mohammed quickly got out of the car and saw blood inside the rear window. Now justice has been undone by the stroke of a pen," Sarah Holewinski, the organization's Washington director, said in a statement. Since the harrowing Nisour Square massacre in Baghdad in 2007, the Blackwater private military contractor, renamed as Academi in 2011 and becoming a subsidiary of Constellis Group following a merger with Triple Canopy in 2014, has built quite a business empire for itself. But supporters of the military contractors, who argued the investigation was tainted and the punishments too severe, cheered the news. Before Nord Stream Sabotage, VT RADIO: Exposing East Palestine Train Derailment Disaster with VTs Jack Heart, Dr. Fauci Admits COVID Shots Didnt Have A Chance Of Controlling The Pandemic, More Home Care Services Needed for Military Veterans, VA is Lying Facebook Group is Social Media Done Right, Pregnant Dog Found Starving to Death in Cage Needs Help to be Reunited With Marine Who Rescued Her, Healthy Eating Options More Accessible to Military Community through the Exchange, Israels Illegal Violent Occupation: When De-Escalate Means Ramp Up, Citizen Kane Rupert Murdoch Openly Admits Fox News is Complete Bullshit. They beat citizens and scorn them. On Tuesday, President Trump pardoned 15 people, including Dustin Heard (from left), Evan Liberty, Nicholas Slatten and Paul Slough, the four former government contractors convicted for a 2007 massacre in Baghdad that left more than a dozen Iraqi civilians dead. [48] According to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice promised a "fair and transparent" investigation into the incident. 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." Former Blackwater mercenary convicted of Baghdad civilian massacre [29] The banning was described by P. W. Singer, an expert on the private military industry, as "inevitable", given the US government's reliance on and lack of oversight of the private military industry in Iraq.
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