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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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February 17th,
2009 - Judge Refuses to Toss Charges in Blackwater Case News article from the Associated
Press |
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Judge Refuses to Toss Charges
in Blackwater Case By Nedra Pickler Associated Press February 17, 2009 Washington - A federal judge
ruled Tuesday that the manslaughter case against five former Blackwater
Worldwide security guards accused of spraying innocent Iraqis with
machine-gun fire can continue. U.S. District Judge Ricardo
Urbina denied two motions to dismiss the case against the five men accused in
a September 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqis dead and another 20 wounded in
a busy Baghdad intersection. The five argued that they
are not subject to U.S. civilian criminal laws because they were working
overseas under a contract with the State Department to help provide security
for diplomats. A legal loophole says only contractors who work for or support
the Defense Department can be prosecuted in U.S. courts for crimes committed
overseas. Defense attorney Mark
Hulkower pointed out that President Barack Obama, who now overseas the
Justice Department that is prosecuting the case, sponsored a bill while a
senator to close the loophole so State Department contractors could be
prosecuted in U.S. courts. "But that hasn't occurred yet," Hulkower
said. Federal prosecutors argued
the men were supporting the work of the Defense Department by helping to
create a stable, self-governing Iraq. They said they would offer evidence at
trial that their employment supported the Defense Department. Urbina sided with
prosecutors and agreed that the issue should be heard at trial. But he noted
that the "defendants' points on this issue are rather strong" and
predicted it would be an issue that either he or a jury would decide later. The five defendants - all
decorated military veterans - are charged with 14 counts of manslaughter, 20
counts of attempted manslaughter and one count of using a machine gun to
commit a crime of violence. The machine-gun charge, typically used in drug
cases, carries a 30-year minimum prison sentence. The trial is scheduled to
begin in a year against ex-Marines Donald Ball of West Valley City, Utah,
Dustin Heard of Knoxville, Tenn., and Evan Liberty of Rochester, N.H.; and
Army veterans Nick Slatten of Sparta, Tenn., and Paul Slough of Keller,
Texas. All five were present at Tuesday's hearing, but none of them spoke. Lawyers for the five men
also argued that the case should be dismissed because it was improperly filed
in Washington, where none of them lives. They suggested the case be handled
in Utah. The judge dismissed that argument as well. Blackwater has not been
charged in the case. It announced Friday that it was changing its name to Xe,
which is pronounced like the letter "z," to help repair damage to
its reputation. The Iraqi government has
labeled the guards "criminals" and is closely watching the case.
The shooting strained relations between Washington and Baghdad and fueled the
anti-American insurgency in Iraq. Many Iraqis saw it as a demonstration of
American brutality and arrogance. The shooting took place
around noon on Sept. 16, 2007, in the crowded Nisoor Square. Prosecutors said
civilians were running errands, getting lunch and otherwise going about their
lives. Iraqi witnesses said the contractors opened fire unprovoked and left
the square littered with blown-out cars. But the Blackwater guards
contend they were ambushed by insurgents. Blackwater radio logs made
available to The Associated Press by a defense attorney in the case describe
a hectic eight minutes in which the guards repeatedly reported incoming
gunfire from insurgents and Iraqi police. Copyright © 2009 The
Associated Press. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i_xa83_RBzTPUrXquA0EjcqvQb1AD96DH96O0 Judge Upholds Charges
Against Blackwater Guards By Del Quentin Wilber Washington Post February 17, 2009 A federal judge today
refused to toss out charges against five U.S. security contractors accused of
killing 14 Iraqi civilians in a busy Baghdad square in 2007. The ruling by U.S. District Judge
Ricardo M. Urbina came in an early legal challenge brought by defense
attorneys representing the guards, who worked at the time for Blackwater
Worldwide. The guards' attorneys had argued the government didn't have
jurisdiction to bring the charges. The guards were indicted in
December on charges of voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and
using a firearm in a crime of violence in the controversial shooting in
bustling Nisoor Square in September 2007. The government says the guards
killed 14 Iraqi civilians and wounded 20 others in a salvo of bullets and
grenade explosions. Prosecutors have said the guards unleashed an unprovoked
attack on the civilians. The charges were brought
under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) of 2000, which
allows U.S. prosecutors to charge American service members, their family
members and those employed by the military for illegal acts committed
overseas. A 2004 amendment expanded
MEJA to cover those working "in support" of Defense Department missions,
a provision that prosecutors argue covers security contractors, such as
Blackwater, working for the State Department in Iraq. Attorneys for the guards
argued yesterday that Blackwater was not supporting the military mission. The
company, which has since renamed itself Xe, had a contract with the State
Department and were not supporting military missions, they said. Urbina said the guards'
legal arguments "are rather strong" but declined to toss out the
charges. Such questions should be addressed after prosecutors presented their
case in court, the judge said. Urbina also rejected an
argument by the guards that the charges should be dismissed because the
government improperly brought charges in the District and not in the home
state of one of the defendants. The guards - Paul Slough, 29, Nicholas
Slatten, 24, Evan S. Liberty, 26, Dustin L. Heard, 27, and Donald Ball, 26 -
live in Tennessee, New Hampshire, Texas and Utah. A sixth guard, Jeremy P.
Ridgeway, 34, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter charges in the
District and is expected to cooperate with prosecutors. Defense attorneys are
expected to file a flurry of motions over the next year. The trial has been
tentatively scheduled to start next February. External link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/17/AR2009021701938.html |