Judge dismisses charges in Blackwater Iraq killings

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Judge dismisses Blackwater case

A US federal judge has dismissed all charges against five guards from US security firm Blackwater over the killing of 17 Iraqis in 2007.

The five, contracted to defend US diplomatic personnel, were accused of opening fire on a crowd in Baghdad.

District Judge Ricardo Urbina said the US justice department had used evidence prosecutors were not supposed to have.

The five had all pleaded not guilty to manslaughter. A sixth guard admitted killing at least one Iraqi.

The killings, which took place in Nisoor Square, Baghdad, strained Iraq's relationship with the US and raised questions about US contractors operating in war zones.

Lawyers for the five guards say they were acting in self-defence, but witnesses and family members of those killed maintain that the shooting on 16 September 2007 was unprovoked.

Plea deal

The disputed evidence concerned statements the guards gave to state department investigators, which they were told would not be used to bring a criminal case.

This limited immunity deal meant that prosecutors should have built their case against the men without using the statements.

But Judge Urbina said prosecutors had failed to do so, and that the US government's explanation for this was "contradictory, unbelievable and lacking in credibility".

Justice department spokesman Dean Boyd told the Associated Press news agency: "We're obviously disappointed by the decision. We're still in the process of reviewing the opinion and considering our options."

The five guards were Donald Ball, Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Nick Slatten and Paul Slough - all of whom are decorated military veterans.

As well as the 14 counts of manslaughter, they had faced 20 counts of attempted manslaughter and one count of using a machine gun to commit a crime of violence, a charge that carries a 30-year minimum sentence.

Their lawyers said the men were thrilled by the ruling.

"It's tremendously gratifying to see the court allow us to celebrate the new year the way it has," said Bill Coffield, who represents Mr Liberty. "It really invigorates your belief in our court system."

Donald Ball's lawyer, Steven McCool, said it felt like the "weight of the world" had been lifted from his client's shoulders.

"Here's a guy that's a decorated war hero who we maintain should never have been charged in the first place," he said.

A sixth Blackwater employee, Jeremy Ridgeway, had agreed to a plea deal in return for testifying against his colleagues.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8436780.stm



im sure everyone will sleep better tonight knowing that a private army is above the law
 
The articles I read on this dismissal point to some major league procedural violations that mean the court simply can't use virtually any of the damning evidence they have. I'm not 100% convinced that's true, and even if it is, suggests more to me about collusion b/w investigators and the military-industrial complex than it does an accidentally inept government body.

I hope their appeals come through. These murderers should face the justice system.
 
i dont understand how the interviews that are at the center of this can be inadmissible. i mean, they tell the state dept what happens, the state dept says "oh dont worry, nothing you say will be held against you", and the judge just goes with it.
 
A government that is running its foreign policy largely through use of mercenaries messing up its investigation of alleged misconduct of those mercenaries?

You don't say.

Unfortunately, I don't think too much noise about the massive numbers of mercenaries being used in our foreign policy is going to be discussed in any mainstream publication or media outlet any time soon.
 
We need to see these guy's pictures so we can at least make them pariah's, calling thhem murderers on the street. Well first I'll need to see the evidence.
 
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