US appeals to reopen Blackwater case
A US appeals court met behind closed doors Tuesday as the government appealed a judge’s decision to clear five former guards with security company Blackwater of killing 14 Iraqi civilians in 2007.
The three appeals court judges agreed to a request from all sides for the hearing into the controversial case to be closed to the public. A ruling is not expected for three months.
Charges against the Blackwater employees were dismissed last year, when a judge ruled US prosecutors violated the guards’ rights by using incriminating statements they had made under immunity during a State Department probe.