BLACKWATER CHARGES DISMISSED
January 1st, 2010Via: Reuters:
Iraq expressed its disappointment on Friday with a U.S. federal court ruling that threw out all charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards accused of gunning down Iraqi civilians in 2007.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the five men had committed a “serious crime” in the September 2007 shooting in Baghdad, which strained U.S.-Iraqi relations and became a symbol for many Iraqis of foreign disregard for local life.
Dabbagh said Iraq may sue the private security company, now known as Xe Services.
“The Iraqi government regrets and is disappointed by the U.S. court’s decision … We have our own investigations and they showed that Blackwater committed a serious crime in the killing of 17 Iraqi citizens,” Dabbagh said.
“The Iraqi government is considering other legal means through which it can sue the Blackwater company,” he added.
After the 2003 invasion, private guards protecting U.S. personnel enjoyed immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts, but that ended with a bilateral pact that took effect in 2009.
The five guards were charged in a U.S. federal court a year ago with 14 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempt to commit manslaughter and one weapons violation count.
On Thursday, a U.S. district judge threw out the case, saying prosecutors had wrongly used statements the guards made to State Department investigators under a threat of job loss in violation of defendants’ constitutional rights.
from:
http://rebelreports.com/post/310249178/fed-judge-gives-blackwater-huge-new-years-gift
For those interested, here are the judge’s order and the 90 page memo defending the order.
http://drop.io/bwmemourbina/asset/bw-order-urbina-pdf%20%20
http://drop.io/bwmemourbina/asset/bw-memo-urbina-pdf
Rule of Law? Right!