Blackwater facing law suit by survivors

An injured survivor and the three families of men killed in a Sept. 16 shooting in Baghdad, filed suit against Blackwater USA in a Washington, D.C. federal court this morning. The case was brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the firms of Burke O’Neil LLC and Akeel & Valentine, P.C. Talib Mutlaq Deewan, who was wounded in the incident, and the estates of the deceased men – Himoud Saed Atban, Usama Fadhil Abbass, and Oday Ismail Ibraheem – sued Blackwater and its affiliated companies alleging the firm violated U.S. law and “created and fostered a culture of lawlessness amongst its employees, encouraging them to act in the company’s financial interests at the expense of innocent human life.” The lawsuit is seeking unspecified compensatory damages for "death, physical, mental, and economic injuries," as well as punitive damages. According to a synopsis of the suit, the complaint asserts that "Blackwater violated the federal Alien Tort Statute in committing extrajudicial killing and war crimes, and that Blackwater should be liable for claims of assault and battery, wrongful death, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligent hiring, training and supervision." Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights cites Blackwater's "repeated and consistent failure to act in accord with the law of war, U.S. law, and international law." "For the good of both nations, as well as for countless innocent civilians, the company cannot be allowed to continue operating extra-legally, providing mercenaries who flout all kinds of law," he continued. "This lawsuit, like the ongoing U.S. and Iraqi government investigations, cannot bring back those killed at Nisoor Square but it can make Blackwater accountable for its actions." “This senseless slaughter was only the latest incident in a lengthy pattern of egregious misconduct by Blackwater in Iraq,” Burke O'Neill partner Susan Burke commented. “At the moment of this incident, the Blackwater personnel responsible for the shooting were not protecting State Department officials. We allege that Blackwater personnel were not provoked and that they had no legitimate reason to fire on civilians." Defendants named in the suit are Blackwater USA, Blackwater Security Consulting LLC, The Prince Group LLC and Erik Prince, Blackwater's founder. In 2004, the Center for Constitutional Rights won a victory in a Supreme Court ruling which determined that so-called enemy combatants held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, must be afforded the right to challenge their detention before a judge. The Center represented detainees in the case. The same year, the group filed a criminal complaint with German authorities, urging them to investigate possible war crimes related to abuses at the US-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Under the "doctrine of universal jurisdiction," the Center stated then, "suspected war criminals may be prosecuted irrespective of where they are located." The full text of the Blackwater complaint can be read here in pdf.