International Desk:
President Donald Trump has pardoned four U.S. security guards convicted of killing 14 civilians, including children, in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
The four convicted security guards worked for a private military company called Blackwater. In 2006, Paul Slug, Evan Liberty, Dustin Hard and Nicholas Slaten indiscriminately attacked a Baghdad crossroads with machine guns, grenade launchers and a sniper rifle. The incident sparked outrage in the international arena against the use of mercenaries on the battlefield. Slaten was sentenced in 2014 to life in prison and others to 30 years in prison for first-degree murder.
Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. They claim that they have been severely punished, which they do not deserve.
Outgoing presidents in the United States have pardoned many who have been convicted of less serious crimes before leaving the White House. Trump is leaving at the end of his term on January 20. Earlier, he used the opportunity to announce a general amnesty. In addition to the four involved in the worst massacre in Iraq, Trump has pardoned 11 people, including two men convicted of lying to the FBI in a possible investigation into Russia’s collusion with his campaign camp.
