EXCLUSIVE - Family Members of Slain Iraqis Sue Blackwater USA for Deadly Baghdad Shooting

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EXCLUSIVE - Family Members of Slain Iraqis Sue Blackwater USA for Deadly Baghdad Shooting


The Center for Constitutional Rights is filing a lawsuit today under the Alien Tort Claims Act on behalf of the families of three of the Iraqis killed, as well as another Iraqi who was injured, when Blackwater guards shot dead 17 Iraqis and injured many more. We speak with CCR attorney Susan Burke and Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill, author of the bestselling book "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army." We begin our show with a Democracy Now! exclusive. A lawsuit is being filed today against the private military firm Blackwater USA over last month's shooting in Baghdad, when Blackwater guards shot dead 17 Iraqis and injured many more. Earlier this week the Iraqi government called on the Bush administration to sever its ties with Blackwater in Iraq and for the company to pay $8 million in compensation to each of the Iraqi families.

* Susan Burke. Attorney in Philadelphia who is working with the Center for Constitutional Rights on its suit against Blackwater.

* Jeremy Scahill. Independent journalist, Democracy Now! correspondent, author of "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army."

Transcript at link~

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/11/1340205

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1. Susan, explain this lawsuit.

Susan, explain this lawsuit.

SUSAN BURKE: We were approached by the families of three gentlemen who were shot and killed, as well as a gentleman who was very seriously injured. They came to us because they know of our work representing the torture victims at Abu Ghraib, and they asked us whether it would be possible to try to get some form of justice, some form of accountability, against this rogue corporation.

So we put together a lawsuit that is being filed this morning in federal court in the District of Columbia on behalf of the families of three gentlemen who were killed: Mr. Atban, Mr. Abbass and Mr. Ibraheem The three gentlemen, amongst them, had fourteen children, including one, Mr. Atban, had a newborn baby daughter. So, needless to say, we are very interested in holding this company accountable and in pursuing the lawsuit vigorously.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you describe your understanding of what happened on that day, on September 16?

SUSAN BURKE: My understanding, based on the media reports, as well as on information that we’re receiving from eyewitnesses in Iraq, is that Blackwater essentially began just an unprovoked shooting. And they -- one of the first shots fired killed a gentleman whose car -- who slumped over, and his head was on the steering wheel, his foot on the accelerator, so the car kept rolling, and that basically led to chaos, where Blackwater was firing indiscriminately around the square. There was one Blackwater guard who apparently tried to stop his colleagues from this wanton and senseless murdering of innocents, but he was not effective in doing so.

JUAN GONZALEZ: And would CCR be working with Iraqi attorneys on the ground there, because I would assume that if this case were to move forward, the issue of being able to recruit witnesses or talk to witnesses would be very difficult, given the war situation there?