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Killing of Iraqi Civilians Index

Killings Database – Year 2007

 

 

The Blackwater Killings in Baghdad

 

Background

Media Reports

Court Cases

Government Reports

Photo Credits

 

Newest Media Report: Security Firms Told They Lose Immunity in Iraq: Official (20/11/2008/Agence France Presse)

Newest Government Report: DOD/State Dept. Have Improved Oversight of Priv. Contractors (31/7/2008/U.S. GAO)

Newest Legal Document: Reply in Support of Plaintiff’s Motion (19/5/2008/Estate of H. S. Atban v. Blackwater et al)

 

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Background - September 16th, 2007

 

“[…] Lawyer Hassan Jabir was stuck in traffic when he heard Blackwater USA security contractors shout ‘Go, Go, Go.’ Moments later bullets pierced his back, he said Thursday from his hospital bed. Jabir was among about a dozen people wounded Sunday during the shooting in west Baghdad’s Mansour neighborhood. Iraqi police say at least 11 people were killed. […] ‘No one fired at them,’ Jabir said of the Blackwater guards. ‘No one attacked them but they randomly fired at people. So many people died in the street.’ […]”

 

Excerpt of an Associated Press article from September 21st, 2007

 

Burnt-out car after the Blackwater shootings

 

The Document Archive of the Blackwater Killings

 

The Court Cases:

Case File of the Civil Suit I re Baghdad Killings on September 16th, 2007

Case File of the Civil Suit II re Baghdad Killings on September 9th, 2007

 

The Media Archive:

The 2008 Media Reports File

The 2007 Media Reports File

The 2006 Media Reports File

 

Diverse Archives:

The Government Reports File

Diagrams of the Killings - Diagrams included in New York Times/Washington Post articles from September/October 2007.

The Blackwater Killings - Short CNN Documentary from September 19th, 2007

 

 

Recent Media Reports

 

November 21st, 2008 - Security Firms Told They Lose Immunity in Iraq: Official

1 news article by Agence France Presse

 

November 14th, 2008 - Feds Draft Indictment Against Blackwater Guards

2 news articles by the Associated Press & ABC News

 

October 28th, 2008 - Report on Iraq Security Lists 310 Contractors

1 news article by the New York Times

 

October 10th, 2008 - Blackwater to Check Itself on US Arms Export Law

1 news article by the Associated Press

 

The 2008 Media Reports File

The 2007 Media Reports File

The 2006 Media Reports File

 

Court Cases

 

Civil Suit I: Estate of Himoud Saed Atban et al vs. Blackwater USA, Erik Prince et al

 

This lawsuit concerns the killing of 17 Iraqi civilians by Blackwater personnel on September 16th, 2007 on Nisour Square in Baghdad. It was filed on behalf of several estates of killing victims on October 11th, 2007 before the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC.

 

Civil Suit II: Estate of Ali Hussamaldeen Albazzaz vs. Blackwater USA, Erik Prince et al

 

This lawsuit concerns the killing of 5 Iraqi civilians near the al-Watahba Square in Baghdad on September 9th, 2007, where Ali Albazzaz died. It was filed on behalf of the estate of Mr. Albazzaz on December 19th, 2007 before the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC.

 

 

Civil Suit I

Estate of Himoud Saed Atban et al vs. Blackwater USA, Erik Prince et al

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Case-No.: 1:07-cv-01831-RBW

Filed on October 11th, 2007

Consolidated with Civil Suit II on March 28th, 2008

 

Recent Filings:

 

May 19th, 2008 - Reply in Support of Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File an Amended Complaint

 

“[…] Blackwater’s Opposition to the Motion for Leave to File a Third Amended Complaint does not provide this Court with any legally-sound reason to deny leave to amend at this early juncture. Blackwater does not – and cannot – demonstrate the presence of any of the ‘adverse factors’ required to oppose leave to amend: undue delay, bad faith, prejudice to the defendants, or futility of the amendment. […]

 

“Blackwater’s only legal argument – that spoliation cannot occur before a civil action is filed – is simply wrong. Lacking any legal basis to argue any of the Rule 15 adverse factors, Blackwater instead attacks the motives and personal integrity of lead counsel, claiming that victims’ counsel filed the motion to amend in bad-faith in order to ‘inject sensational and unfounded allegations’ into the record for publicity purposes. […]

 

“Such an attack is legally-irrelevant ‘table pounding’ of the type a Defendant uses when neither law nor facts support their argument. Nonetheless, because victims’ counsel has not had the privilege of appearing before this Court in the past, the following sets forth in detail why the victims’ legal team reached the reasoned conclusion that the victims needed to file a motion to amend. […]”

 

May 7th, 2008 - Defendant’s Memorandum of Points and Authorities

 

“[…] Plaintiffs have moved for leave to file yet another complaint - the fourth to date - in Case Number 1:07-cv-01831, Estate of Himoud Saed Abtan et al. v. Blackwater Worldwide et al. […] , seeking to add a count for ‘tortious spoliation of evidence’ […]. Plaintiffs’ proposed Third Amended Complaint contains groundless allegations of spoliation and improper destruction of evidence relating to (1) the government-authorized repair of damaged security vehicles in Iraq shortly after September 16, 2007, and (2) the supposed shredding of certain unidentified documents in North Carolina. […]. Because of the pendency of a motion to dismiss based on improper venue, Plaintiffs’ Motion to Amend should be denied without prejudice or deferred until after the Court resolves the venue issue.

 

“At the outset, Defendants feel compelled to respond to Plaintiffs’ brief, but inaccurate, incomplete, and misleading, account of correspondence between the parties before this Motion was filed. See Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Leave to File a Third Amended Complaint (‘Memorandum’) […]. Rather than burden the Court by drawing attention to all the omissions and inaccuracies in Plaintiffs’ description of the events leading to the filing of this Motion, Defendants attach to this Opposition an email chain between counsel regarding this issue and invite the Court to review it. […]”

 

April 29th, 2008 - Defendants’ Reply in Support of their Motion to Dismiss

 

“[…] Given the obvious error Plaintiffs make in arguing for venue in this District under Section 1391(a)(3) and Section 1391(b)(2), this Court should dismiss both Complaints pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). Plaintiffs make no effort to rebut or even engage the arguments for dismissal rather than transfer that Defendants made in their opening brief. […] Indeed, Plaintiffs persist in erroneously arguing against transfer under Section 1404(a). […] Defendants, however, have consistently argued for dismissal (or in the alternative transfer) under Section 1406(a). […]

 

“It is appropriate for this Court to dismiss (or in the alternative transfer) these cases under Section 1406(a) because that provision controls when a case is filed in a district, as here, where venue is improper, not merely inconvenient. Section 1404(a) applies by its own terms to transfers ‘to any other district or division where [the case] might have been brought.’ […] As demonstrated here and in Defendants’ opening brief, dismissal is appropriate because Plaintiffs have repeatedly - with three different filed complaints and a fourth proposed complaint in Abtan - made no effort to connect their allegations to any plausible basis for venue in this Court.

 

“Defendants respectfully request that the Court grant their Motion and enter an order dismissing in their entirety the Second Amended Complaint in Abtan and the Amended Complaint in Albazzaz; or, in the alternative, transferring both cases to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, where Plaintiffs concede that venue is proper. […]”

 

April 28th, 2008 - Motion for Leave to File an Amended Complaint

 

“[…] Blackwater has been destroying documents and other tangible evidence relating to the September 16, 2007, massacre in Nisoor Square, Iraq. This conduct constitutes tortious spoliation of evidence. The plaintiffs (both living victims of the massacre and the estates of the murdered victims) therefore seek leave from the Court under Rules 15(a) and 18(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to file an amended complaint setting forth a spoliation claim as an additional count and grounds for damages. A proposed Order granting leave for the filing and the proposed Third Amended Complaint are attached. The parties have met and conferred, but Blackwater refuses to consent to the victims’ motion for leave to amend. […]

 

“(2) Shredding of documents - On or before March 18, 2008, Blackwater executives Gary Jackson and Dave Jackson, as well as unknown others, met in Blackwater’s North Carolina compound to discuss the company’s legal exposures arising from the ongoing governmental investigations. (Blackwater is under criminal investigation by the United States Attorneys in both the District of Columbia and North Carolina.) During that meeting, Blackwater executives directed that documents be shredded. After that meeting, Blackwater employees shredded an unknown number of documents that related to the company’s criminal and civil legal exposures. […]”

 

Case File of Civil Suit I re Killings of September 16th, 2007

 

 

Civil Suit II

Estate of Ali Hussamaldeen Albazzaz vs. Blackwater USA, Erik Prince et al

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Case-No.: 1:07-cv-02273-RBW

Filed on December 19th, 2007

Consolidated with Civil Suit I on March 28th, 2008

 

Recent Filings

 

March 28th, 2008 - Entry

 

Case consolidated pursuant to order filed on 3/28/08. All filings are to made in the lead case No. 07-CV-1831.

 

March 28th, 2008 - Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to Amend

 

“[…] Plaintiff hereby moves the Court pursuant to Rules 15(a), 20 and 21 of the Rules of Civil Procedure for leave to amend his complaint. As set forth in the accompanying memorandum of points and authorities, the proposed First Amended Complaint adds the Estate of Kadhum Kayiz Aziz. Mr. Aziz was shot and killed by Blackwater during the September 9, 2007, massacre. […]”

 

March 28th, 2008 - Minute Order

 

Based upon the response of the parties to the Court’s minute order to show cause entered on March 14, 2008, and in accordance with a minute order entered this same date in Atban v. Blackwater USA, Civil Action No. 07-1831 (RBW) (D.D.C.), it is ordered that this case is consolidated with Atban v. Blackwater USA, Civil Action No. 07-1831 (RBW) (D.D.C.), for purposes of pre-trial discovery and briefing. It is further ordered that future filings in these consolidated cases shall be made in the first instance in Atban v. Blackwater USA, Civil Action No. 07-1831 (RBW) (D.D.C.), and “spread” to this docket by the parties using the Court’s Case Management/Electronic Case Filing system once consolidation has been effectuated by the Clerk of the Court. It is further ordered that this case is administratively closed unless and until the case proceeds to trial, at which time the case shall be re-opened. Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on 3/28/08.

 

March 21st, 2008 - Defendants’ Response to the Order to Show Cause

 

“[…] The Court entered an order on March 14, 2008, instructing the parties to show cause why this case should not be consolidated with Abtan et al. v. Blackwater Worldwide et al., Case No. 1:07-cv-01831, also pending before the Court. Defendants do not oppose consolidation of this case with the Abtan case for purposes of pretrial discovery and proceedings. Defendants do, however, oppose consolidation for purposes of trial. […]”

 

March 14th, 2008 - Minute Order to Show Cause

 

In the interests of judicial economy, it is ordered that on or before March 21, 2008, the parties shall show cause, if any they wish to assert, why the Court should not consolidate this case with Atban v. Blackwater USA, Civil Action No. 07-1831 (RBW) (D.D.C.). Signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton on 3/14/08.

 

Case File of Civil Suit II re Killings of September 9th, 2007

 

 

Recent Government Reports

 

July 31st, 2008 - DOD & State Dept. Have Improved Oversight of Priv. Sec. Contractors in Iraq

Report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)

 

“[…] Since the Nisour Square incident in September 2007, DOD and the State Department have taken action to improve oversight of PSCs in Iraq,. However staffing and training challenges remain for DOD. In November 2007 MNF-I established the Armed Contractor Oversight Division to provide oversight and serve as MNF-I’s overall point of contact on policies that govern DOD’s PSCs. MNF-I has also published comprehensive guidance related to the oversight of DOD PSCs and has made military units more responsible for providing oversight of PSCs in terms of incident reporting and investigating as well as contract management.

 

“However, while DOD has incorporated information on working with PSCs into senior military staff and unit training programs and exercises, this training does not reflect the increased PSC oversight responsibilities and organizational structures established since the September 2007 incident. Thus, military units may not be aware of and trained on how to carry out their expanded oversight responsibilities and the required incident investigations may not occur.

 

“Further, while DOD has increased the number of personnel in Iraq devoted to providing contract oversight and management over private security contracts it is not clear whether DOD can sustain this increase because limited number of oversight personnel in the workforce. In the short-term, DOD has increased the number of oversight personnel in Iraq by shifting existing oversight personnel from other locations into Iraq. However, if DOD is unable to sustain the increase in oversight personnel, the improvements in contract oversight gained by the current personnel increases may well be lost.

 

“The State Department has implemented 11 of the 18 actions recommended by a panel that reviewed the Department’s use of PSCs in Iraq and continues to implement others. Among the recommendations it has implemented or is in the process of implementing are recommendations to install video recording equipment in its security vehicles, place a diplomatic security agent in each PSC motorcade, and increase the number of Diplomatic Security agents stationed in Iraq to improve contract oversight and management. To provide these additional agents, the State Department moved personnel from other assignments both in the U.S. and abroad which negatively affected other Diplomatic Security missions. The State Department has requested and received funding for an additional 100 diplomatic security agents in its fiscal year 2008 supplemental appropriations request. […]”

 

November 16th, 2007 - Memorandum/Testimony of Howard J. Krongard

Memorandum by the U.S. House of Representatives/Committee on Oversight & Government Reform

 

“[…] On Wednesday, November 14, 2007, the full Committee held a hearing entitled, ‘Assessing the State Department Inspector General.’ At this hearing, Inspector General Howard J. Krongard testified that his brother, Alvin ‘Buzzy’ Krongard, told him that he was not on the board of Blackwater USA and had no connections to Blackwater. Yesterday, in response to a letter from the CommiÍtee, Buzzy Krongard called the Committee staff and said that contrary to Howard Krongard’s testimony, he did tell his brother about his relationship with Blackwater.

 

“The information from Buzzy Krongard raises serious questions about the veracity of Howard Krongard’s testimony before the Committee. To help answer these questions, I expect the Committee to hold a hearing immediately after the Thanksgiving recess at which Howard Krongard and Buzzy Krongard will be invited to testify. […]”

 

The Government Reports File

 

The Lead Executives of Blackwater

Erik Prince

Gary Jackson

Cofer Black

Joseph Schmitz

Photo Credits

 

Background

 

1) The burned remains of a car in Baghdad Thursday marked Sunday’s shootings by private security guards that killed at least eight people. - September 21st, 2007 - Ali Yussef/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images;

 

The Lead Executives of Blackwater

 

1) - 4)  Erik Prince, Gary Jackson, Cofer Black & Joseph Schmitz - undated - The 4 photos were published by the Viriginian-Pilot as part of an article on Blackwater on July 24th, 2006. The original sources of the photos are unknown.

 

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