Saturday, January 02, 2010
Blackwater
Last Thursday, a federal judge dismissed criminal charges against five Blackwater security guards accused of killing 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians in 2007. Those refuting the decision include the Justice Department, the FBI, which found that at least 14 of the Iraqis killed were shot without cause, and the Iraqi government.
U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina claims Blackwater security guards can’t be accountable both because their contracts relieved them from Iraq’s justice system and because the prosecution violated their constitutional rights through confession statements, such as being threatened of losing their jobs if they did not cooperate with investigators.
The Justice Department charged the Blackwater guards with manslaughter in 2008, while one contractor pleaded guilty late that year.
As of January 1, 2009, private contractors like Blackwater, now called Xe, are no longer exempt from Iraqi law; this means there might be more accountability for heinous acts and justice for the victims because judges like Urbina won’t be able to evade alarming evidence of war crimes.
U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina claims Blackwater security guards can’t be accountable both because their contracts relieved them from Iraq’s justice system and because the prosecution violated their constitutional rights through confession statements, such as being threatened of losing their jobs if they did not cooperate with investigators.
The Justice Department charged the Blackwater guards with manslaughter in 2008, while one contractor pleaded guilty late that year.
As of January 1, 2009, private contractors like Blackwater, now called Xe, are no longer exempt from Iraqi law; this means there might be more accountability for heinous acts and justice for the victims because judges like Urbina won’t be able to evade alarming evidence of war crimes.
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