Trump pardons security contractors in deadly Iraq shooting
4 years ago

Trump pardons security contractors in deadly Iraq shooting

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned four former government contractors convicted in a 2007 massacre in Baghdad that left more than a dozen Iraqi civilians dead and caused an international uproar over the use of private security guards in a war zone. “Paul Slough and his colleagues didn’t deserve to spend one minute in prison,” said Brian Heberlig, a lawyer for one of the four pardoned defendants. A federal appeals court later overturned Slatten’s first-degree murder conviction, but the Justice Department tried him again and secured another life sentence last year. Armed militants opposed to the U.S. presence in Iraq frequently deployed vehicle bombs next to Western and Iraqi motorcades in traffic, making the ubiquitous armed guards accompanying most dignitaries extra jittery — and in Blackwater’s case, insistent about not allowing other vehicles near them.

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History of this topic

Trump's pardon of mercenaries guilty of massacre in Iraq leads to outrage worldwide
3 years, 11 months ago

Trump's pardon of mercenaries guilty of massacre in Iraq leads to outrage worldwide

The Hindu  

United States President DonaldTrump’s notorious pardons list has come in for scathing criticism domestically and internationally. A U.S. congressional report released in 2008 had concluded that between 2005 and 2007, Blackwater security personnel operating in Iraq had used deadly force on a “weekly basis”, causing “significant casualties” and deadly damage. The U.S. Attorney’s office, in a statement issued after the …

Attorney for Blackwater murder victim: Trump's pardons "a slap in the face" to U.S. justice
3 years, 11 months ago

Attorney for Blackwater murder victim: Trump's pardons "a slap in the face" to U.S. justice

Salon  

With less than a month left in his presidency, President Trump on Tuesday pardoned four Blackwater security contractors whose convictions for killing 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians in 2007 had in recent years become a right-wing rallying cry. "The investigation was monumental," Paul Dickinson, a plaintiff's attorney in North Carolina who represented six of the Iraqi victims in a lawsuit in …

Trump pardons of Blackwater contractors an ‘insult to justice’
3 years, 11 months ago

Trump pardons of Blackwater contractors an ‘insult to justice’

Al Jazeera  

Lawyers and rights defenders say Trump pardons of four men convicted in killings of 14 Iraqis in 2007 undoes years-long fight for accountability. US prosecutors said the heavily armed Blackwater contractors used sniper weapons, machine guns and grenade launchers to indiscriminately fire at civilians in the crowded traffic circle, causing massive carnage and the killing of two children. “These veterans …

‘Blood cheaper than water’: Outrage over Trump Blackwater pardons
4 years ago

‘Blood cheaper than water’: Outrage over Trump Blackwater pardons

Al Jazeera  

Iraqis express anger after Trump pardoned four guards convicted in the 2007 Baghdad massacre that killed at least 14 civilians. US President Donald Trump’s issuance of pardons for security guards convicted of killing at least 14 Iraqi civilians in a 2007 Baghdad massacre has caused international uproar, including in Iraq where people expressed outrage and sadness. Today we heard they …

Fox News host: Pardoned Blackwater war criminals were 'doing their job' by massacring 14 civilians
4 years ago

Fox News host: Pardoned Blackwater war criminals were 'doing their job' by massacring 14 civilians

Raw Story  

Fox News host Pete Hegseth on Wednesday praised four Blackwater military contractors who were pardoned by President Donald Trump after they massacred 14 Iraqi civilians. "What the president did for those Blackwater contractors -- it's been described as a massacre," Hegseth said on Fox & Friends. "There's no upside to a call like this other than sending a signal to …

Blackwater massacre survivors In Iraq slam Trump’s decision to pardon guards
4 years ago

Blackwater massacre survivors In Iraq slam Trump’s decision to pardon guards

CNN  

Baghdad, Iraq CNN — An Iraqi man who survived an infamous massacre of unarmed civilians by American security guards in Baghdad has condemned President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon the men as “unjust.” Seventeen Iraqi civilians, including 9- and 11-year-old boys, were killed when private contractors from the US security firm Blackwater opened fired in Baghdad’s Nisour Square in 2007. …

Trump pardon of Blackwater killers sparks outrage in Iraq
4 years ago

Trump pardon of Blackwater killers sparks outrage in Iraq

LA Times  

President Trump this week pardoned four Blackwater guards convicted in a 2007 massacre of Iraqi civilians. “President Trump has hit a disgraceful new low with the Blackwater pardons,” said Hina Shamsi, director of the National Security Project at the American Civil Liberties Union. “These military contractors were convicted for their role in killing 17 Iraqi civilians and their actions caused …

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