Trump’s amnesty for the perpetrators of the massacre (Eagles Square) in Baghdad does not erase from the memory of Iraqis the brutality of American crimes

“You will face God’s decision”,this is how the Iraqi lawyer Jaber Salman  responded to the pardon of the outgoing US President Donald Trump for the perpetrators of the (Eagles Square) massacre in Baghdad in 2007 from the members of the American “Blackwater” company.

 This statement confirms that Trump’s pardon does not erase from the memory of Iraqis the countless American crimes against them.

On September 16, 2007, militants of the American Blackwater Company, which is known for its black record of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, against Iraqis, opened fire randomly at a crowded intersection in Nisour( Eagles)  Square in Baghdad towards Iraqi civilians, killing 14 Iraqi civilians, including a child, and wounding many.

The stringent sentences issued by the United States of America in 2014 against the four militants  were thirty years imprisonment for Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard and life imprisonment for Nicholas Slatten.

The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Trump’s decision to pardon a number of Americans convicted of killing Iraqis violated laws and human rights.

 “This decision did not take into account the seriousness of the crime committed and is inconsistent with the US administration’s declared commitment to the values of human rights, justice and the rule of law and regrettably ignores the dignity of the victims,” the Ministry  said in a statement.

Lawyer Jaber Salman, who traveled to the United States to testify after about seven years of the massacre, said in an interview with CNN of America: “It was a sunny day in Baghdad, and in an instant, Nisour(Eagles )Square turned into a street of  blood.There was a lot of fire and it was eerie when the bodies fell.”

A member of the Iraqi Human Rights Commission, Ali Al-Bayati, said: “ This matter confirms that the United States and Britain violate human rights standards and international law.”

“They provide immunity to their soldiers even though they claim to protect human rights,”Al-Bayati.

InasAbdulkareem