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In this file photo Blackwater CEO Erik
Prince testifies before the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee on security contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan on Capitol Hill
in Washington, Oct. 2, 2007.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Security guards from
a private U.S. military contractor involved in a shooting incident in Iraq have
been granted immunity by State Department investigators, a news report said
Monday.
According to the report by the New York Times' online
edition, the guards employed by the Blackwater company to protect State
Department officials in Iraq gained the limited-use immunity during an inquiry
by the department's investigative arm, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (BDS).
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Foreign security guards stand guard at
the scene of a bomb attack in Baghdad Oct. 3, 2007. Security guards from a
private U.S. military contractor involved in a shooting incident in Iraq
have been granted immunity by State Department investigators, a news
report said Monday. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo Gallery>>> |
Citing unidentified officials close to the
investigation, the report said that prosecutors at the Justice Department,
instead of BDS investigators, have authority to grant such immunity, but they
had no advance knowledge of the BDS arrangement.
Limited-use immunity, as officials explained to the
newspaper, means that security guards were promised they would not be prosecuted
for anything they said in their interviews with the authorities as long as their
statements were true.
The State Department and the Justice Department both
did not comment on the matter, while the company's spokeswoman Anne E. Tyrell
told the newspaper "it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the
investigation."
The Federal Bureau of Investigation took over the
case from the State Department on Oct. 3 and has since then begun to
re-interview Blackwater employees without granting any immunity to assemble
independent evidence of possible wrongdoing.
The Justice Department is currently considering
whether any prosecutions could take place involving U.S. civilians in Iraq
following the Blackwater shooting incident, the report said.
Blackwater is a major military contractor providing
security services to the U.S. government in Iraq. Its guards opened fire in a
crowded Baghdad square when protecting a State Department convoy, killing as
many as 17 Iraqi civilians on Sept. 16.
Some government officials told the newspaper that
granting immunity was a potentially serious investigative misstep that could
complicate efforts to prosecute the company's employees involved in the
incident.
Blackwater employees and other civilian contractors
can not be tried in U.S. military courts or in Iraq courts and it is unclear
what U.S. criminal laws might cover criminal acts committed in a war zone, the
report said.
According to the Coalition Provision Authority (CPA),
a law issued by a former U.S. administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer, the
"multinational forces, foreign liaison missions, their personnel, property,
funds and all international consultants shall be immune from the Iraqi legal
process."
However, the enraged Iraqi government said Tuesday it
would revoke the immunity of foreign security firms from being prosecuted
granted by the CPA.
Earlier this month, the House of Representatives
overwhelmingly passed a bill that would make contractors like Blackwater liable
under a law known as the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act.
Blackwater sued by its Iraqi victims
in U.S. court
WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Blackwater, the U.S.
security firm whose armed personnel allegedly opened fire on innocent Iraqi
civilians last month, was sued Thursday by an injured survivor and three
families of the men killed in the incident.Full story
Blackwater may lose contract in
Iraq
BEIJING, Oct. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- The
U.S. State Department may phase out or limit the use of private security firms,
including Blackwater USA, in Iraq following a top-to-bottom review of security
practices in the country, according to media reports Thursday.
That might mean Blackwater could lose its contract in line with the demand by
the Iraqi government. Full story
BEIJING, Oct. 8 -- Iraq says security
guards from the US firm Blackwater deliberately killed 17 Iraqis in last month
in Baghdad and legal action would be taken against them.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh says an
investigation launched by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki found no evidence the US
security firm came under fire during the incident. He says the company itself
could face legal action. Full story
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Sept. 16 shooting
incident involving the private security firm Blackwater USA has stirred anger in
Iraq and an uproar in the United States.
According to a report by the Washington Post on
Friday, even U.S. military reports indicated that Blackwater guards opened fire
without provocation and used excessive force against Iraqi civilians. Full story
