Five Blackwater security guards are getting ready to turn themselves in, after being indicted on manslaughter and gun charges in connection with a 2007 shooting in Baghdad's Nisour Square. A sixth contractor is negotiating a plea.
To recap: 17 civilians were killed in a shootout with Blackwater guards, protecting a State Department diplomatic convoy. The incident caused major friction between the U.S. and Iraqi governments -- and placed the security firm under intense public scrutiny.
While Blackwater continues to work in Iraq, the incident placed contractors under a cloud. It also led for a concerted push by the Iraqi government to lift legal immunity for private contractors. Once a U.S.-Iraq security pact comes into force at the beginning of the year, contractors will be subject to Iraqi law.
This will also be an interesting case for legal junkies. Establishing jurisdiction over contractors for crimes committed overseas can be tricky. Late last month, Don Ayala became the first military contractor to be charged with murder under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction
Act, a 2000 law that allows the prosecution of civilian contractors who commit crimes while working for the U.S. overseas."The Associated Press reports that prosecutors may use of a Reagan-era anti-drug law to prosecute the guards. While drugs were not involved in the Nisour Square shooting, the
1988 law calls for 30-year prison terms for using machine guns to commit violent crimes.
The first legal battle may come over where the trial takes place. "The case has already been assigned to U.S. District Judge
Ricardo M. Urbina in Washington," the AP notes. But the Blackwater guards are surrendering in Utah, where one of the five alleged shooters lives. "Utah is a much more conservative, pro-gun venue than Washington. It's a long-shot legal strategy, but it underscores just how contentious the court fight will be, long before the case ever gets to trial.
[PHOTO: MSNBC]
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