Washington, Oct 30 (Prensa Latina) The government of President George W. Bush offered legal immunity to US Blackwater guards accused of war crimes in Iraq, The New York Times revealed on Tuesday.
Sources quoted by the daily said this guarantee to the agents was offered by investigators of the State Department Security Office.
To be granted immunity, the guards only have to say the truth when questioned about the shooting in which they killed 17 civilians in Iraq on September 16.
Several witnesses said the Blackwater security staff, who were guarding a convoy of US diplomats, opened fire without warning and without a reason.
Recently, the Center for Constitutional Defense, a human rights organization, brought a lawsuit against Blackwater for their war crimes in Iraq on behalf of survivors and families of three victims of the September shooting that also left 22 people wounded.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) also denounced what it described as extended human rights violations in the Arab country.
The Blackwater case is now in the hands of the FBI. The agents have refused to be interrogated, according to reports.
hr rma et PL-40