Donald Trump has pardoned military personnel imprisoned for killing Iraqi civilians.

President Donald Trump has granted clemency to four Blackwater contractors convicted in connection with the killing of 14 Iraqi civilians in 2007.

President Donald Trump has granted clemency to four Blackwater contractors convicted in connection with the killing of 14 Iraqi civilians in 2007.In a pre-Christmas round of pardons, Trump has remitted four security guards from the private military firm Blackwater, who were jailed for open firing at Baghdad's Nisoor Square in 2007. The incident took place when the contractors tried to clear their way in heavy traffic and allegedly fired indiscriminately at the crowd. The attack had left 14 Iraqi civilians dead including, ten men, two women, and two boys. The defense lawyers had argued that the guards returned fire after being ambushed by Iraqi insurgents.

The 15 pardons and five commutations were published in a White House statement released on Dec.22, 2020, including four guards, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, Dustin Heard, and Nicholas Slatten, all accused in the shootout incident. The contractors were among 19 Blackwater private security guards assigned to protect US personnel in Iraq.

In 2014, the US federal court had found Slatten guilty of murder, while Slough, Liberty, and Heard were convicted of voluntary manslaughter and other charges. Slatten was sentenced to life in prison, and the other three were convicted for 30-year term imprisonment.