Blackwater guards found guilty of killings

Four former Blackwater security guards were convicted of the 2007 shootings of more than 30 Iraqis in Baghdad on Wednesday, but they plan to appeal, their lawyers said.

The convictions stemmed from an incident that inflamed anti-US sentiment around the globe and was denounced by critics as an illustration of a war gone horribly wrong.

The men, who worked for Blackwater, a private security contractor for the US government, claimed self-defense in the long-running case, but federal prosecutors argued that they had shown "a grave indifference" to the carnage their actions would cause.

All four were ordered immediately to jail. The judge did not immediately set a sentencing date.

The federal jury found Nicholas Slatten guilty of first-degree murder, the most serious charge in a multi-count indictment. The three other guards - Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard - were found guilty of multiple counts of voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and gun violations.

The outcome, after a summer-long trial and weeks of jury deliberations, appeared to stun the defense.

David Schertler, a lawyer for Heard, said, "The verdict is wrong, it's incomprehensible. We're devastated. We're going to fight it every step of the way. We still think we're going to win."

However, one of those struck by gunfire in the shootings, Hassan Jabir, said in Baghdad that "at last we are hearing good news where justice has been achieved and Blackwater will receive their punishment". He said there are two bullets still inside his body, one in his hand and one in his back, which doctors have said would be very risky to remove.

The shootings on Sept 16, 2007, caused an international uproar over the role of defense contractors in urban warfare.

The US State Department had hired Blackwater to protect its diplomats in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, and elsewhere in the country. Blackwater convoys of four heavily armored vehicles operated in risky environments where car bombs and attacks by insurgents were common.

On the murder charge, Slatten could face a maximum penalty of life in prison. The other three defendants could face decades behind bars.

The case was mired in legal battles for years, making it uncertain whether the defendants would ever be tried.

The trial itself focused on the killings of 14 Iraqis and the wounding of 17 others. During an 11-week trial, prosecutors summoned 72 witnesses, including Iraqi victims, their families and former colleagues of the defendants.

'Grave indifference'

There was sharp disagreement over the facts in the case.

The defendants' lawyers said there was strong evidence the guards were targeted by gunfire from insurgents and Iraqi policemen, leading them to shoot back in self-defense. Federal prosecutors said there was no incoming gunfire and that the shootings by the guards were unprovoked.

The prosecution contended that some of the Blackwater guards had low regard and deep hostility toward Iraqi civilians.

The guards, the prosecution said, harbored "a grave indifference" to the death and injury that their actions probably would cause Iraqis.

Several former Blackwater guards testified that they had been generally distrustful of Iraqis, based on experiences of being led into ambushes.

AP - Reuters

(China Daily 10/24/2014 page11)