1. Among the pardons made by President Trump at the end of his first term, the pardon of four former guards for Blackwater has been regarded by some as particularly galling. (But George says there is more to the story of how Iraqis were killed and injured. If there was any justification for the guards actions it was that some civilian Iraqis took what might have been resonably been viewed as hostile actions although perhaps in retrospect they were not.)
Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard were convicted six years ago in the killing of 14 Iraqi civilians and the wounding of 17 others. Witnesses described how the American men ambushed the civilians unprovoked, firing on Baghdad's Nisour Square with heavy gunfire and grenade launchers.
The massacre took place in 2007, when the four were working as guards for Blackwater, a private military contractor, on an assignment in Baghdad. They claimed they were fired on, but prosecutors said the Blackwater guards opened fire first. Slatten, whom prosecutors said started the shooting, was sentenced to life in prison.
Hassan Salman is among the Iraqis who were shot during the ambush. He told NPR on Wednesday that he was shocked by Trump's pardons — he himself had made trips to the U.S. to give testimony in the proceedings against the four.
"Today we were surprised that the American president issued a decision to pardon these criminals, murderers and thugs," Salman said, speaking from Baghdad. "I'm really shocked. ... The American judiciary is fair and equitable. I had never imagined that Trump or any other politician would affect American justice."
The U.N. Human Rights Office says it's "deeply concerned" by the pardons.
"These four individuals were given sentences ranging from 12 years to life imprisonment, including on charges of first-degree murder," spokesperson Marta Hurtado said in a statement. "Pardoning them contributes to impunity and has the effect of emboldening others to commit such crimes.
"By investigating these crimes and completing legal proceedings, the US complied with its obligations under international law," she added. "Victims of gross human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law also have the right to a remedy. This includes the right to see perpetrators serve punishments proportionate to the seriousness of their conduct."
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