Blackwater men found guilty of murder

A federal jury in the United States on Wednesday found four former Blackwater security guards guilty of shootings of over 30 unarmed Iraqis in Baghdad in 2007.

Nicholas Slatten was convicted of first-degree murder and the other three guards including Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard were found guilty of at least three counts of voluntary manslaughter.

The jury said the criminals acted wildly in the shootings on Sept. 16, 2007, which left 14 dead and 20 others injured. The incident also triggered international criticism over the role of security contractors.
 
The four men are now facing a combined 33 counts in the shootings, and Slatten would be sentenced to life in prison while the other three face a mandatory minimum of 30 years in jail.

District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth allowed the jury to announce the verdicts, which were issued after a 10-week trial and 28 days of deliberation.

According to prosecutors, Slatten viewed killing Iraqis as “payback for 9/11” and often “deliberately fired his weapon to draw out return fire and instigate gun battles”. The prosecutors also said that Slatten also smashed windscreens of passing cars in Baghdad.

Blackwater Worldwide, which is now known as Academi and is based in McLean, Virginia, is the most notorious private security firm that had operated in Iraq.

Many Iraqis believe the US military allowed Blackwater mercenaries to commit numerous war crimes against their compatriots with impunity.

AT/GJH