Update!! Amy Goodman and Jeremy Scahill discuss the ruling this morning on DemocracyNow!
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Jeremy Scahill, Democracy Now! correspondent and one of the bravest journalists out there, who exposed Blackwater (now called Xe) through his book, Blackwater : The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, has a column out at The Nation about cases brought by Iraqi victims against Xe and Erik Prince.
See his new article in The Nation.
Excerpt:
Judge Ellis, a Reagan appointee with a mixed record on national security issues, rejected several of the central arguments Blackwater made in its motion to dismiss, namely the company's contention that it cannot be sued by the Iraqis under US law and that the company should not be subjected to potential punitive damages in the cases. The Iraqi victims brought their suits under the Alien Tort Statute [click on me], which allows for litigation in US courts for violations of fundamental human rights committed overseas by individuals or corporations with a US presence. Ellis said that Blackwater's argument that it cannot be sued under the ATS is "unavailing," adding that corporations and individuals can both be held responsible for crimes and torts. He said bluntly that "claims alleging direct corporate liability for war crimes" are legitimate under the statute.
Ellis also rejected Blackwater's argument that "conduct constitutes a war crime only if it is perpetrated in furtherance of a 'military objective' rather than for economic or ideological reasons." Ellis said that under Blackwater's logic "it is arguable that nobody who receives a paycheck would ever be liable for war crimes. Moreover, so narrow is the scope of [Blackwater's] standard that it would exclude murders of civilians committed by soldiers where there was no legitimate 'military objective' for committing the murders."
"What is important here is that the judge is saying that violations of war crimes can be committed by private people or corporations," says Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights. He said Ellis's ruling is "an affirmation of the precedent set by CCR [Center for Constitutional Rights] thirty years ago" when it brought the first successful Alien Tort suit in 200 years"that those who engage in violations of fundamental human rights abroad can be held liable in the US." Ellis's ruling, he says, "is sympathetic to the idea that the Blackwater case is an appropriate use of the law."
But Ellis also ruled that the Iraqi plaintiffs failed to provide sufficient specific details linking Blackwater's owner Erik Prince to the alleged murders and other crimes in Iraq. In order for the case to proceed against Prince, Ellis wrote, "the complaints must state facts that would allow a trier of fact plausibly to infer that Prince intentionally killed or inflicted serious bodily harm on innocent civilians during an armed conflict and in the context of and in association with that armed conflict." The plaintiffs, Ellis ruled, "have failed to meet this burden."
Here is a fact sheet on Blackwater from the Center for Constitutional Rights, who is representing the victims of Blackwater's crimes.
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If you would like to Donate to CCR, the Center for Constitutional Rights, see their website here.
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Some Rachel Maddow Love:
Part 1 Cont'd
Part 2 Jeremy Scahill and Dr. Maddow
Part 2 Cont'd
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We have smart people here at DKos. Could someone put together a diary on the process that victims of war crimes would have to follow to have their day in court? Or perhaps a diary about the ICC or barriers to getting justice?
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You can also follow Scahill's work at his blog, Rebel Reports
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Scahill had earlier reported in August that
A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company's owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. The former employee also alleges that Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe," and that Prince's companies "encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life."
Here is a
link from DemocracyNow! (August 5th) in which Amy Goodman talks with Jeremy Scahill about the murder allegations
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UPDATED * *
This Just In: From Pacifica... Amy Goodman and Jeremy Scahill talk about the ruling on DemocracyNow this morning (Friday Oct 23rd)!!!