The Daily Populous Thursday December 31st, 2020 morning edition
Authored by independent.co.uk and submitted by ChiGuy6124

Donald Trump’s pardon of four American security guards convicted of killing Iraqi civilians, including two children, in Baghdad in 2007 was “an affront to justice”, United Nations human rights experts have said.

Nicholas Slatten was convicted of first-degree murder, while Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard were convicted of voluntary and attempted manslaughter, over the massacre in which US contractors opened fire with machine-guns, grenade launchers and a sniper on a busy square in the Iraqi capital, killing 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians.

The four contractors, who worked for the private security firm Blackwater, owned by the brother of the president’s education secretary, were included in a wave of pre-Christmas pardons announced by the White House.

Mohammed Kinani, the father of the youngest victim, nine-year-old Ali, said Mr Trump “broke my life again” on learning of the pardons.

Experts from the UN have now said the move by the outgoing president violated US obligations under international law.

“Pardoning the Blackwater contractors is an affront to justice and to the victims of the Nisour Square massacre and their families,” Jelena Aparac, the chair of the UN working group on the use of mercenaries, said in a statement.

The Geneva Conventions oblige states to hold war criminals accountable for their crimes, even when they act as private security contractors, the UN experts said.

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“These pardons violate US obligations under international law and more broadly undermine humanitarian law and human rights at a global level.”

By allowing private security contractors to “operate with impunity in armed conflicts”, states will be emboldened to circumvent their obligations under humanitarian law, they said.

An Iraqi traffic police officer inspects a car destroyed by a Blackwater security detail in Nisour Square in Baghdad on 25 September 2007 (AP)

The pardons were strongly criticised by many in the United States.

General David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, respectively commander of US forces and US ambassador in Iraq at the time of the incident, described Mr Trump’s pardons as “hugely damaging, an action that tells the world that Americans abroad can commit the most heinous crimes with impunity”.

BrokenGlepnir on December 30th, 2020 at 14:49 UTC »

I first heard about this from someone reporting on how right wing media portrays things. They provided more details, but also left out key ones that provided important context. If you'd only been exposed to the right, you'd think they were rail roaded. For instance the state department had a document that said they did nothing wrong. What they didn't report was that that document was copied into their records within hours and was basically black waters statement to them. Others bring up the retrial. What they don't say was they left out the evidence that was tainted and still got a conviction. The state department had gotten some damning confessions, but were found inadmissible. People watching things like Hannity and Carlson only heard snippets. Just that evidence was tainted at some point and the state had a document claiming they were innocent(excluding that it was given by their employer)

ActiveFrontEnd on December 30th, 2020 at 14:41 UTC »

Only one Republican congressmember has spoken out about these ridiculously corrupt pardons, and he proposed ZERO action. Trump literally has personal connections to the vast majority of people being pardoned. Listening to political journalist during this lame duck period is infuriating. Since he isn't going to be POTUS anymore they have started to drop the veneer of polite words and have started to say that he is lying. Thanks a lot guys, way to call the balls and strikes now that the game is over.

Crank_FaCe on December 30th, 2020 at 14:28 UTC »

They should be extradited to Iraq and tried in their courts for murder.