U.S. Justice dept. obtains indictments against Blackwater guards

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The U.S. Department of Justice has obtained indictments against five guards working for the security company Blackwater Worldwide for their alleged involvement in a 2007 shooting in the Iraqi capital that killed at least 17 Iraqi civilians, The New York Times said in a report. “The indictments, obtained Thursday, remained sealed. But they could be made public in Washington as soon as Monday, according to people who have been briefed on the case and who spoke on condition of anonymity because the indictments had not been unsealed,” the newspaper said in a report on Friday. “A sixth guard was negotiating a plea, those people said.” “The six guards have been under investigation since the shootings occurred Sept. 16, 2007, as their convoy traveled through a traffic circle in Nisour Square that was filled with cars, pedestrians and police officers. The guards have told investigators that they fired after coming under attack. Blackwater has maintained that its guards did nothing wrong, and the company itself is not being charged in the case. Investigations by the Pentagon, the F.B.I. and the Iraqi government found no evidence to support the guards’ version of events,” according to the report. “Those who have been briefed on the case said prosecutors could seek 30-year prison sentences under a Reagan-era antidrug law focusing on the use of machine guns in the commission of violent crimes. Drugs were not involved in the Blackwater case,” the newspaper wrote. “The Nisour Square shootings have had a profound impact in Iraq, both on the role of contractors in the war zone and on the Baghdad government’s relationship with the Bush administration. The episode was the bloodiest in a series of violent events involving Blackwater and other American security contractors that had stoked anger and resentment among Iraqis,” it added. SS (S) 1