AFP. Two helicopters circled overhead, each with a man strapped in and a machine gun sticking out. Five were charged with 14 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted manslaughter and a weapons violation: Donald Ball, a former Marine from West Valley City, Utah; Dustin Heard, a former Marine from Knoxville, Tennessee; Evan Liberty, a former Marine from Rochester, New Hampshire; Nicholas Slatten, a former army sergeant from Sparta, Tennessee, and Paul Slough, an army veteran from Keller, Texas. He documented what was left of his brother's car. Trump pardons ex-campaign aide and disgraced Republican lawmakers, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Another young man, 27-year-old Abu Hassam, suddenly became the head of his family just a week earlier, when on Sept. 9 his older brother was shot in front of the family's carpet shop -- in an incident also attributed to Blackwater. Private. Blackwater was even hired by the Department of Homeland Security during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and according to PBS, collected "more than $70 million in hurricane-related contracts. In 2008, the United States Department of Justice filed criminal charges against Donald Ball, Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Nicholas Slatten (pictured, center), and Paul Slough, all of whom were Blackwater guards during the Nisour Square massacre. Interviews with victims and witnesses to the Sept. 16 shooting in Nissour Square bring to light more information about the problems caused by private contractors, which have effectively operated with impunity as they've brought violence and widespread ill will to US operations in Iraq. A State Department employee who was walking into the department's Baghdad operations center on the day of the incident heard a radio call from the convoy: "Contact, contact, contact! [26][27], On September 27, 2007, The New York Times reported that during the chaotic incident at Nisour Square, one member of the Blackwater security team continued to fire on civilians despite urgent cease-fire calls from colleagues. The screenplay was originally written by Stuart Beattie, with Roskam penning the most recent draft. Director Pasha Patriki Writers Chad Law Tyler W. Konney Richard Switzer Stars Jean-Claude Van Damme Dolph Lundgren Al Sapienza See production, box office & company info Watch on Freevee Watch Free on Freevee More watch options Nisour Square massacre - Wikipedia [25][31], The account by the Blackwater firm differed from the Iraqi government's account; Blackwater's account stated the driver of the Kia sedan had kept driving toward the convoy, ignoring verbal orders, hand signals, and water bottles thrown at the car, and continued to approach even when fired upon. An order issued by the Coalition Provisional Authority in its departing days and still in force gives foreign private contractors immunity under Iraqi law. The logs depicted "a hectic eight minutes in which the guards repeatedly reported incoming gunfire from insurgents and Iraqi police". Blackwater guards were also known for their aggression. Help us continue to fight human rights abuses. According to The Seattle Times, the lawsuit was reportedly settled in January 2010, and the U.S. Department of Justice decided not to seek an indictment against Moonen. Contractor Banned by Iraq Over Shootings", "F.B.I. The report further said that Blackwater had reported that its forces fired first in over 80 percent of the cases. Initially, they worked providing training support to law enforcement and the justice department, but as Prince once stated, their "corporate goal [was] to do for the national security apparatus what FedEx did to the postal service." Salman ran over to the car and as he raised his hand to stop the shooting, the Blackwater guards responded by shooting Mohassin dead as she clung to her son, reports NPR. [101][102] The Iraqi Foreign Ministry urged the United States to reconsider, declaring the pardons "did not take into account the seriousness of the crime committed".[103]. However, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki urged the United States to end their contract with Blackwater. Ex-Blackwater contractor sentenced to life in Iraq shootings By ASHRAF KHALIL August 14, 2019 WASHINGTON (AP) A former Blackwater security contractor was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for his role in the 2007 shooting of unarmed civilians in Iraq that left 14 people dead. They beat citizens and scorn them. "Convoys are common," explained Khalaf. Around this time, another Blackwater team of 15 guards known as Raven 23 headed out of the International Zone to offer support, despite the fact that, according to United States v. Slough, they were given an order "not to leave the Green Zone [also known as International Zone]." The Iraqi government ordered Blackwater to leave Iraq as soon as a joint Iraqi-U.S. committee finished drafting new guidelines on private contractors under the Iraqi-U.S. security agreement. Black Water (2018) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb Blackwater Guards Found Guilty in 2007 Iraq Killings [24] The driver of the Kia was shot once in the head by a Blackwater contractor and was killed. "Please, we want to live in peace, surrounded by friends not killers. [14] The Iraqi government vowed to punish Blackwater. And in 80% of the cases, Blackwater guards were the ones firing first. In remarks prepared for delivery before a congressional hearing in October, Blackwater chairman Erik Prince claimed company guards "returned fire at threatening targets," including "men with AK-47s firing on the convoy" and "approaching vehicles that appeared to be suicide car bombers." Prosecutors asserted the heavily armed Raven 23 Blackwater convoy launched an unprovoked attack using sniper fire, machine-guns and grenade launchers. [97], On December 22, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump granted full presidential pardons to Slatten, Slough, Liberty, and Heard. Ultimately, Blackwater repeatedly insisted that their guards "were fired upon and responded appropriately." [81] A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found "systemic" errors in the district court's 2009 decision to dismiss charges against the five former Blackwater guards and added "We find that the district court's findings depend on an erroneous view of the law". Although one military review found that "all of the killings were unjustified and potentially criminal," in November 2007, the FBI determined that only 14 out of the 17 killings were unjustified, according to Reuters. At least four other Iraqis have been reported killed in that incident on Sept. 9. According to CNN, between January and September 2005, Blackwater guards fired their guns 195 times, "an average of 1.4 times a week." However, there's never been any evidence that the Blackwater convoy took hostile fire. One such incident is the Blackwater massacre, also known as the Nisour Square massacre. While they weren't the only private contractor to provide military security, the name Blackwater would soon be so notorious that the company would change their name. ", Ahmed "was my first baby boy," he said. Share this via LinkedIn [26][29], An Iraqi government account of the incident stated that as the convoy drew close to Nisour Square, a Kia sedan with a woman and her adult son in it was approaching the square from a distance, driving slowly on the wrong side of the road, and that the driver ignored a police officer's whistle to clear a path for the convoy. In 2015, Slatten was sentenced to life in prison while Slough, Heard, and Liberty were sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. The Iraqi government and Iraqi police investigator Faris Saadi Abdul stated that the killings were unprovoked. The 2007 incident in Baghdad's Nisoor Square caused an international outcry. Dec. 24, 2020 Mohammed Hafedh Abdulrazzaq Kinani with a photo of his 9-year-old son, Ali, who was killed by Blackwater. He also maintained that he wanted to limit and reduce the authority of all security contractors, not just Blackwater, Timereports. Blackwater in Baghdad: "It was a horror movie" - Human Rights Watch And after the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003, Blackwater won a $25 million contract to provide security for L. Paul Bremer, an American diplomat who led the transitional government following the invasion. [37], Henry Waxman, the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which held hearings on the use of Private Security Contractors in February 2007, said his committee would hold hearings "to understand what has happened and the extent of the damage to U.S. security interests". The BBC reports that during Slatten's second trial in 2018, a mistrial was declared after the jury deliberated for 16 days. and tried to gesture to his colleagues in an attempt to stop the shooting. [38] Waxman stated that "the controversy over Blackwater is an unfortunate demonstration of the perils of excessive reliance on private security contractors. The film, an international co-production of Australia and the United Kingdom, is set in the mangrove swamps of northern Australia, and stars Diana Glenn, Maeve Dermody and Andy Rodoreda. Blackwater despite numerous scandals, congressional investigations, FBI probes and documented killings of civilians in both Iraq and Afghanistan remained a central part of the Obama. On January 31, 2009, the U.S. State Department notified Blackwater that it would not be renewing its security contract with the company. We were in a combat zone where things can happen quite unexpectedly, especially when issues involve potentially negative impacts on a lucrative security contract." However, as The New York Times reports, "not one witness heard or saw any gunfire coming from Iraqis around the square." According to Courthouse News Service, they also stated that Slough, Heard, and Liberty should also be re-sentenced "because their 30-year prison terms were too long" and constituted "cruel and unusual punishment.". [15] The incident sparked at least five investigations, including one from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [49], An Interior Ministry spokesman said Iraqi authorities had completed their investigation into the shooting and concluded that Blackwater guards were responsible for the deaths. Opinion | Trump's Most Disgusting Pardons - The New York Times [28] TST 22 arrived at Nisour Square after Raven 23 had left; when TST 22 tried to withdraw, its route was blocked by Iraqi Army and Police vehicles. The Iraq government's own investigation found no evidence that the guards had been provoked or attacked, and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's spokesperson called the shootings "deliberate murder.". An Iraqi policeman went over to the car, possibly to help the passenger, but the vehicle kept moving and it looked to the guards as if the policeman was pushing the car towards the Blackwater TST. Now they'll go free. Blackwater Mercenaries Filmed on a Rampage in Iraq & Shooting Civilians from WarPosting After being leaked by a former employee of the notorious PMC, the footage dated April 2006 was featured in a piece called "The Warrior Class" by Charles Glass. The private military company branched structure consisting of more than a dozen offices reporting the managing organization Xe Services. The Blackwater Shooting October 25, 2007 Witnesses shed new light on the killing of 17 Iraqis by American contractors in Baghdad. The White House further stated that the Court of Appeals "ruled that additional evidence should have been presented at Mr Slatten's trial", and recently that prosecutors said "that the lead Iraqi investigator, who prosecutors relied heavily on to verify that there were no insurgent victims and to collect evidence, may have had ties to insurgent groups himself". [19] According to this account, the security team fired warning shots and then lethal fire at the Kia. We are taking fire from insurgents and Iraqi police. [68][69], On September 24, 2007, the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior announced it would file criminal charges against the Blackwater staff involved in the shooting, although it is unclear how some of them will be brought to trial. [6][85][86] Jurors sided with prosecutors' contention that the shooting was a criminal act, not a battlefield encounter gone wrong. Share this via WhatsApp It looks at the rise of private security contractors such as Blackwater in the era of modern warfare. U.S. military reports appear to corroborate the Iraqi government's contention that Blackwater was at fault in the incident. Slatten faced a potential sentence of life in prison. [64], US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates testified before Congress that the Pentagon has sufficient legal authority to control its contractors, but that commanders lack sufficient "means and resources" to exercise adequate oversight. US: Close Legal Loopholes Allowing Contractors to Act with Impunity, Letter to US Rep. David Price (D-NC) in Support of Accountability for US Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, Ukraine: Izium Apartment Victims Need Justice, Indian Girls Alleged Rape and Murder Sparks Protests, Joint Statement: UAE Human Rights Record Ahead of COP28, Video: Violence and Rape by Zimbabwe Gov't Forces After Protests. Fifteen minutes later, 17 Iraqi civilians were dead, dozens more wounded, and a white sedan that had been engulfed in flames contained two bodies charred beyond recognition. [19] A Blackwater spokeswoman responded to the findings by saying Blackwater "supports the stringent accountability of the industry. NBC News reports that they repainted and repaired their trucks in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, despite the fact that the repairs "essentially destroyed evidence" that would've shown if Blackwater was facing hostile gunfire. [19] The three justifiable killings were those of the two passengers in the white Kia sedan and an unidentified Iraqi nearby. Meanwhile, it took two weeks before a 10-person FBI team was sent to investigate the massacre for the government. His tough faade cracked as he described the moment he learned about the shootings. [44] Blackwater's operations on behalf of the U.S. Department of State and the CIA may be unaffected by license revocation. Blackwater Security Consulting, also known as Blackwater Worldwide, was founded in 1997 by Al Clark and Erik Prince as a private security firm. [10][11] The next day, Blackwater Worldwide's license to operate in Iraq was temporarily revoked. The line of bullet holes in one side door is overshadowed by the two soccer-ball-size holes in the roof and driver's side door. [57], In October 2007, the United Nations released a two-year study that stated that private contractors, although hired as "security guards", were performing military duties. He watched, he said, as the Blackwater convoy made the U-turn toward the street where he stood directing traffic. His brother left behind a wife and four children. Despite being heavily involved with the United States' military involvement in Southwest and Central Asia, Blackwater was often harmful and rarely helpful. [47], The U.S. State Department said it planned to investigate what it called a "terrible incident". [41], Richard J. Griffin, the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security, who made key decisions regarding the department's oversight of private security contractor Blackwater USA, resigned in November 2007, after a critical review by the House Oversight Committee found that his office had failed to adequately supervise private contractors during the Blackwater Baghdad shootings. Then the mother was shot dead before his eyes. "The civilians that were fired upon, they didn't have any weapons to fire back at them. That day changed my life forever. Says Guards Killed 14 Iraqis Without Cause", "Blackwater guards lose bid to appeal charges in Iraqi civilian shooting case", "U.S. troops in Iraq will need immunity: U.S. chief", "Jurors' Note Hints at Conviction in Blackwater Case", "Former Blackwater Guards Convicted in Iraq Shooting", "Shock And Dismay After Trump Pardons Blackwater Guards Who Killed 14 Iraqi Civilians", "Trump Pardons Two Russia Inquiry Figures and Blackwater Guards", "Trump pardon of Blackwater Iraq contractors violates international law - UN", "Iraqi Inquiry Says Shooting Was Unprovoked", "Blackwater guards fired unprovoked: Iraq police evidence", "Pentagon Dispatches Investigators to Iraq to Probe Private Security Contractors", "Joint Iraqi-U.S. review begins in wake of Blackwater firefight", "Blackwater faulted by U.S. military: report", "Iraq determined to rein in private security guards", "The Iraqi Account of the Killings [infographic]", "Former Blackwater Employee Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Murder in 2007 Shooting at Nisur Square in Iraq", "US Lawyers for Blackwater Guards: 2007 Baghdad Shooting was Self-Defense", "From Errand to Fatal Shot to Hail of Fire to 17 Deaths", "Four Former Blackwater Employees Found Guilty of Charges in Fatal Nisur Square Shooting in Iraq", "Iraqi ministers back Blackwater shutdown - CNN.com", "Iraqi Report Says Blackwater Guards Fired First", "State Dept. The shooting then turned heavier, Khalaf said, his eyes red-brimmed and serious. Blackwater Settles Massacre Lawsuit | The Nation And none of the I.P. It's all the news that's fit to watch. Haythem Ahmed was barely able to identify his son and his wife when he got to the scene, since their car had been completely burned. )[60], Baghdad resident Halim Mashkoor told AP Television News, "We see the security firms doing whatever they want in the streets. 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 . Blackwater massacre survivors In Iraq slam Trump's decision to - CNN The film's primary themes are: According to Tidings Media, one guard continued to shoot at unarmed civilians until another guard drew his own gun on him and threatened to shoot. Rogers. In some instances, like in 2004 when Blackwater members were hired to locate and assassinate top Al-Qaeda operatives, they failed to capture or kill anyone. [33], Three Blackwater guards who witnessed the incident later said that they believed the shootings were unjustified. ", Once their name was associated with the Nisour Square massacre, Blackwater ended up changing its name to Xe Services. If it is determined that one person was complicit in the wrongdoing, we would support accountability in that. [37][38] The incident caused Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to call on the U.S. government to end its contract with Blackwater USA,[39] and for the Iraqi government to push for an apology, compensation for victims or their families and for the guards involved in the shooting to be held "accountable". They claimed they were fired on, but prosecutors . They arrived at the square while driving on the wrong side of the road. Film Based on Blackwater Founder Erik Prince in the Works After the September 11th attacks, Blackwater expanded their security-related work and followed the U.S. military into Afghanistan. After it was added, defense attorneys contended a 30-year sentence would be too severe, since the law was intended to deter gang members from carrying automatic weapons. Five independent UN experts condemned United States President Donald Trump's pardoning of private security contractors, convicted in 2015 for war crimes in Iraq, on Wednesday. Blackwater Founder Remains Free and Rich While His Former Employees Go 23 December 2020. Donald Trump has pardoned four security guards from the private military firm Blackwater who were serving jail sentences for killing 14 civilians including two children in Baghdad in 2007, a massacre that sparked an international outcry over the use of mercenaries in war. After the convictions, Blackwater which changed its name to Xe and then Academi after being sold said it was relieved that the justice system has completed its investigation into a tragedy that occurred at Nisour Square in 2007 and that any wrongdoing that was carried out has been addressed by our courts. I Sued Blackwater for the Massacre of Iraqi Civilians. Trump Just Although Blackwater denies using helicopters, "at least one [of] the car roofs had bullets through them.". In Nisour Square, the Blackwater team later claimed that they were "engaged with small arms fire" by an "estimated 8-10 persons." As the convoy stopped, Khalaf watched as a large man with a mustache standing atop the third car fired several shots in the air. Along with a few hundred others, he stayed there as the chaos unfolded, watching as the helicopters circling above the street started shooting at those below. [34], In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, Blackwater's rights to conduct work in Iraq were temporarily suspended. From Iraq to New Orleans, it's continued to pull in multimillion-dollar government contracts, mostly without accountability and in near secrecy.. ", Failure to Uncover the Fate of Syrias Missing, Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people in close to 100 countries worldwide, spotlighting abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice. As of 2021, their name is Academi after being taken over by an "unnamed group of private investors.". Convoy Attacked in Baghdad, Sparking a Shootout", "3 Blackwater Guards Called Baghdad Shootings Unjustified", "Blackwater Denies Any Wrongdoing in Shooting Incident (Update1)", "Iraqi leader urges U.S. to cancel Blackwater contract", "Iraqi Investigators say Videotape Shows Blackwater Guards Fired Without Aggravation", "House Passes Bill That Would Hike Penalties for U.S. Security Contractors in Iraq", "Private Security Company Association Iraq", "Iraqi Government Disputes Blackwater USA's Version of Shooting", "Iraq battle was self-defense, security firm says", "FBI takes lead in probe over Blackwater crisis", "Blackwater most often shoots first, congressional report says", "Report: Blackwater Killings Unjustified", "From Texas to Iraq, and Center of Blackwater Case", No forensic match for ammo in Blackwater shooting, "The Associated Press: APNewsBreak: Blackwater founder questions FBI work", "Overcoming post-colonial myopia: A call to recognize and regulate private military companie"s, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Army, "Wounded Iraqis: 'No one did anything' to provoke Blackwater", "Blackwater incident witness: 'It was hell', Family Members of Slain Iraqis Sue Blackwater USA for Deadly Baghdad Shooting, "Blackwater Verdict a U.S. 'Snub' of Iraqi Leader Nouri al-Maliki: Kayhan, Islamic Republic of Iran", "White House: Contractor bill would have 'intolerable' effects", "Blackwater settles Nisoor Square lawsuit", "5 Blackwater guards face manslaughter charges", "Blackwater Guard in Secret Deal to Testify in Massacre Case", "US judge sets trial in 2010 for Blackwater guards", "Appeals court revives Blackwater shooting case", "US judge dismisses charges in Blackwater Iraq killings", "Reopening of Blackwater Case Confuses Iraqi Victims", "Biden Says U.S. Will Appeal Blackwater Case Dismissal (Published 2010)", "ICD - Slough et al. "I raised my left arm high in the air to try to signal to the convoy to stop the shooting," he said, thinking that it would respond to such a gesture by a police officer. Meanwhile, the Blackwater guards continue to maintain that they "didn't shoot at anybody that wasn't shooting at me," as Liberty stated in an interview with the Associated Press. And Blackwater is not the only problem. [36], On September 19, as a result of the incident, the United States temporarily suspended all land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials in Iraq outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. Share this via Reddit [37], Blackwater, which had been operating in Iraq without an Iraqi government license, applied for one after the incident, but the application was rejected by Iraqi officials in January 2009. [29] The banning was described by P. W. Singer, an expert on the private military industry, as "inevitable", given the US government's reliance on and lack of oversight of the private military industry in Iraq. Please give now to support our work, New testimony from witnesses and victims provides the most in-depth, harrowing account to date of the US security firm's deadly rampage in Iraq, Share this via Facebook The 2004 Fallujah Blackwater incident occurred on March 31, 2004, when Iraqi insurgents attacked a convoy containing four American contractors from the private military company Blackwater USA who were conducting a delivery for food caterers ESS. [1] The ambush [ edit] Amid the wreckage, colorful clouds billowed into the air from the convoy's parting gift -- multicolored smoke bombs. Around midday on September 16, 2007, Ahmed Haithem Ahmed and his mother Mohassin were driving to the hospital to pick up Ahmed's father, Haythem, who worked as a pathologist. [26][27] A U.S. Army convoy arrived at 12:39p.m., backed by air cover, to escort TST 22 back to the Green Zone. Join our movement today. Donald Trump has pardoned four security guards from the private military firm Blackwater who were serving jail sentences for killing 14 civilians including two children in Baghdad in 2007, a. Share this via Email [89][90][91] The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's fractured per curiam decision first found that Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act authorized the prosecutions, over the partial dissent of Judge Janice Rogers Brown. [63] The suit was settled for an undisclosed sum in January 2010. This contract ended up being extended into 2006 and the total cost of that single contract came out to over $300 million. The trial against Heard, Liberty, Slatten, and Slough began around June 2014 and lasted over two months. [21][75] In the memorandum opinion, Judge Urbina ruled the cases against Slough, Liberty, Heard, Ball, and Slatten had been improperly built on testimony given in exchange for immunity;[76] that evidence included statements the guards had been compelled to give to State Department investigators, and as these statements would have been self-incriminating, they could not be used as evidence under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The incident was allegedly resolved only after another Blackwater contractor pointed his weapon at the man still firing and ordered him to stop. He ran three cars back to a white sedan to find a woman holding a young man slumped over and covered with blood. The Kia continued to roll forward after the driver was killed, according to an eyewitness, and Raven 23 continued to fire on it, killing the passenger (the driver's mother); eventually, the Kia was struck by a grenade and was incinerated. Black Water (2018) - IMDb Khalaf, who was there before the shooting began, said he never saw anyone fire on or approach the convoy.