14 of 17 Blackwater Killings Unjustified: FBI

Chilling details emerge in indictments of five guards in deaths of 17 Iraqis

(NEWSER) - Five guards working for the Blackwater security company in Baghdad opened fire without provocation and massacred Iraqi civilians on a busy Baghdad intersection in 2007, according to chilling indictments filed against the men. The guards, protecting a convoy, used automatic weapons and grenade launchers to fire on cars, houses, a traffic cop and a school, killing 17 and wounding 20, reports the New York Times. More»

Feds investigate massacre that killed 17, seek trial in US

(NEWSER) - Federal authorities investigating the Blackwater shootings that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead will revisit the scene of the massacre this week. Prosecutors from the Justice Department have already arrived in Baghdad, to be joined by inspectors from the FBI. But the inquiry has been hamstrung by the American government's promise of immunity to Blackwater bodyguards who gave written testimony, writes AP. More»

Issues with evidence, immunity make prosecution tough

(NEWSER) - Legal cases against Blackwater employees accused of committing murder and other violent crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan have been collapsing one by one, the New York Times reports. This week, the Justice Department dropped a case against an armorer accused of killing a guard to an Iraqi official; the move is the latest in a series of cases dropped due to difficulty gathering evidence, establishing jurisdiction, and working around promises of immunity. “The battlefield is not a place that lends itself to the preservation of evidence,” said an expert. More»

(NEWSER) - Five former Blackwater guards involved in a 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead turned themselves in today and were charged with voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and using firearms in the commission of a crime, CNN reports. The men, all in their 20s, were arraigned in Salt Lake City and face hundreds of years in potential sentences on the charges in the 35-count federal indictments. More»

DOJ runs up against immunity deal, possible gaps in US law

(NEWSER) - The Justice Department warned Congress last month that major legal obstacles stand in the way of any prosecution of private security firm Blackwater for a September shooting in Iraq, the New York Times reports. Immunity granted by the State Department to Blackwater employees represents a possible roadblock; Justice also has not resolved questions about whether federal law applies to Blackwater contractors. More»