President Donald Trump has pardoned four Blackwater security guards who were sentenced to long prison terms for killing 14 civilians in Baghdad in 2007, a massacre that sparked an international outcry over the use of private contractors in the war zone.
The four – Paul Sloff, Evan Liberty, Dustin Heard and Nicholas Slaten – were part of an armed convoy that fired indiscriminately with machine guns and grenade launchers at a crowd of unarmed people in the Iraqi capital. Known as the Nisaur Square massacre, the massacre was seen as a low point in the Iraq conflict.
In 2014, Sloaf, Liberty and Heard were convicted of 13 counts of voluntary genocide and 17 counts of attempted genocide, while sniper Slaton of the firing squad was convicted of first-degree murder. Slaten was sentenced to life; Slow, Liberty and Heard got 30 years.
An initial legal action was taken by a federal judge – the outrage spread in Iraq – but the then vice president, Joe Biden, promised to prosecute, which was upheld by the judges.
Sentencing, U.S. The attorney’s office fee said in a statement: “The sheer amount of unnecessary human damage and suffering caused by the defendants’ criminal behavior on September 16, 2007 is astonishing.”
Following the news of the amnesty on Tuesday night, the lawyer for one of Blackwater’s four amnesties, Brian Heberlig, said: I am overwhelmed with emotion at this wonderful news. ”
Apologies have reflected a clear desire to give American service personnel and contractors the benefit of the doubt, while prosecuting civilians for violence on the battlefield. In November last year, he pardoned a former U.S. Army commando who was preparing for a trial in the murder of a suspected Afghan bomb maker, and convicted a former army lieutenant of ordering his men to shoot at three Afghans.
Supporters of former contractors at Blackwater Worldwide argued that the men had been given excessive punishment.
Prosecutors allege that the heavily armed “Raven 23” Blackwater convoy carried out unplanned attacks using sniper fire, machine guns and grenade launchers. Defense attorneys argued that their clients fired after being wounded by Iraqi rebels.
The memorandum, filed after the sentencing by the U.S. government, stated that “none of the victims were rebels or the Raven 23 convoy was in danger.” The memorandum also contained excerpts from relatives of the deceased, including Mohammed Kinani, whose nine-year-old son Ali was killed. “From that day on, my life changed forever. It completely destroyed me that day, “said Kinani.
The memorandum also quoted retired U.S. Colonel David Boslego as saying the massacre was “excessive use of force” and “absolutely inappropriate for a person whose sole job is to provide personal security to someone in an armored vehicle.” Was. ”.
Boslego also said the attack “had a negative impact on our mission, [an] Adverse effects: It usually puts more strain on our relations with Iraqis. ”
FBI investigators who visited the site in the following days described it as “Iraq’s My La Massacre” – a reference to the infamous massacre of civilian villagers by U.S. troops during the Vietnam War – in which only one soldier was convicted.
After the recognition, Blackwater Water – which was sold in 2011 and renamed the academy after it was renamed – said it was “relieved that its investigation into the 2007 Nisor Square tragedy has been completed by the judiciary and whatever irregularities have taken place.” Has been addressed by our courts.
“The security industry has grown exponentially to that end, and under the direction of new ownership and leadership, the Academy is committed to training our employees in compliance and ethics programs, and And has invested heavily in preventive measures to ensure strict compliance with all local government laws. ”
The list of 14 victims killed by the Black Water Guards includes Ahmed Haitham Ahmed Al Rubia, Mahasin Mohsen Kadum Al-Khazali, Osama Fadil Abbas, Ali Mohammed Hafeed Abdul Razzaq, Mohammed Abbas Mahmudak, Saddam Ghani Niyah Hassan Ali, Ibrahim Abid Aish, Hamoud Saeed Abtan, Uday Ismail Ibrahim, Mahdi Sahib Nasir and Ali Khalil Abdul Hussain.
