Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Smoke on Blackwater

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/12/ap_blackwater_case_ruling_123109/
Judge dismisses all charges in Baghdad shooting
By Matt Apuzzo - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Dec 31, 2009 17:20:27 EST
WASHINGTON - A U.S. judge dismissed all charges Thursday against five 
Blackwater Worldwide security guards accused of killing unarmed Iraqi 
civilians in a crowded Baghdad intersection in 2007.
U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina said Justice Department prosecutors 
improperly built their case on sworn statements that had been given under a 
promise of immunity. Urbina said the government's explanations were 
"contradictory, unbelievable and lacking in credibility."
The decision throws out a case steeped in international politics. The 
September 2007 shooting in busy Nisoor Square left 17 Iraqis dead and 
inflamed anti-American sentiment abroad. The Iraqi government wanted the 
guards to face trial in Iraq and officials there said they would closely 
watch how the U.S. judicial system handled the case.
"We're obviously disappointed by the decision," Justice Department spokesman 
Dean Boyd said. "We're still in the process of reviewing the opinion and 
considering our options."
Prosecutors can appeal the 90-page ruling.
Blackwater contractors had been hired to guard U.S. diplomats in Iraq. The 
shooting led to the unraveling of the U.S.-based company, which since has 
changed its management and changed its name to Xe Services.
The five guards are Donald Ball, Dustin Heard and Evan Liberty, all former 
Marines; Nick Slatten, a former Army sergeant and Paul Slough, an Army 
veteran.
Defense attorneys said the guards were thrilled by the ruling after more 
than two years of scrutiny.
"It's tremendously gratifying to see the court allow us to celebrate the new 
year the way it has," said attorney Bill Coffield, who represents Liberty. 
"It really invigorates your belief in our court system."
"It's indescribable," said Ball's attorney, Steven McCool. "It feels like 
the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders. Here's a guy that's 
a decorated war hero who we maintain should never have been charged in the 
first place."
Urbina's ruling does not say whether the shooting was proper, only that the 
government improperly used evidence to build the case. After the shooting, 
the State Department ordered the guards to explain what happened.
Investigators promised the men that their statements were to be used only 
for the internal inquiry and would not be used in a criminal case. Such 
limited immunity deals are common in police departments so officers involved 
in shootings cannot hold up internal investigations by refusing to 
cooperate.
The deal meant that prosecutors had to build their case without using those 
statements. Urbina said the Justice Department failed to do so. Prosecutors 
read those statements, reviewed them in the investigation and used them to 
get search warrants, Urbina said.
The five guards had been charged with manslaughter and weapons charges. The 
charges carried mandatory 30-year prison terms.
It was unclear what the ruling means for a sixth Blackwater guard, Jeremy 
Ridgeway, who turned on his former colleagues and pleaded guilty to killing 
one Iraqi and wounding another. 

 The decision throws out a case steeped in international politics.
#_Proprio perche` deciso in una Corte Civile, questo e`un lavaggio ancor 
piu`vergognoso dei soliti clisteri delle corti marziali !