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Iraq to file suits against Blackwater guards: PM

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Monday that Iraq will file lawsuits in both US and Iraqi courts against Blackwater after a US judge dismissed charges last week against five guards indicted for their involvement in the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians in September 2007. Judge Richardo Urbina of the US District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed voluntary manslaughter and weapons charges against the five guards, finding that statements were obtained in violation of the Constitution. Al-Maliki said that his government rejects the ruling and has formed a committee to file suits in both the US and Iraq. Prosecutors from the US Department of Justice dropped manslaughter charges against one of the defendants in November. Five defendants pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and weapons charges last January. The five guards were indicted in December 2008 on charges of voluntary manslaughter, attempt to commit manslaughter, and using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence. A sixth guard pleaded guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter and attempt to commit manslaughter for his role in the same incident. The Blackwater incident caused domestic outrage in Iraq and has prompted legal controversy in the US. A FBI inquiry into the incident concluded that the shootings were unjustified. Iraq security contractors lost their immunity from prosecution under the new US Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq that was approved in December 2008.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on January 04, 2010 (boomark / email).