Friday, October 12, 2007

Three Cheers for CCR

From the CCR website:

" On October 11, 2007, a legal team including the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) sued Blackwater USA, the private military contractor whose heavily armed personnel allegedly opened fire on innocent Iraqi civilians in Nisoor Square in Baghdad on Sept. 16.

The suit was filed on behalf of an injured survivor and three families of men killed in the incident, according to the legal team representing the civilians. The case was brought be the Center for Constitutional Rights and the firms of Burke O'Neil LLC and Akeel & Valentine, P.C.

Filed in Washington, D.C. federal court by Talib Mutlaq Deewan and the estates of the deceased men - Himoud Saed Atban, Usama Fadhil Abbass, and Oday Ismail Ibraheem - the lawsuit claims that Blackwater and its affiliated companies 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 complaint alleges 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. "

For more about this legal action and other work of CCR visit their website.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.