Ethiopian Review

In sworn statements filed with a Virginia court last night, a former Marine and a former Blackwater employee claim that the company’s founder and former CEO, Erik Prince, “may have murdered or facilitated the murder” of people who were aiding a federal investigation into a Baghdad massacre that left 17 dead, according to Nation reporter Jeremy Scahill.

“The former employee also alleges that Prince ‘views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe,’ and that Prince’s companies ‘encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life,” the magazine reported.

Both individuals’ names were withheld by the court.

Mere hours after the story went online, The Nation’s Web site appeared to be experiencing severe bandwidth problems, though the report was still available through Google’s caching service. (Update: The Nation’s bandwidth problems appear to have subsided.)

“The former employee, identified in the court documents as ‘John Doe #2,’ is a former member of Blackwater’s management team, according to a source close to the case,” Scahill noted. “Doe #2 alleges in a sworn declaration that, based on information provided to him by former colleagues, ‘it appears that Mr. Prince and his employees murdered, or had murdered, one or more persons who have provided information, or who were planning to provide information, to the federal authorities about the ongoing criminal conduct.’ John Doe #2 says he worked at Blackwater for four years; his identity is concealed in the sworn declaration because he ‘fear[s] violence against me in retaliation for submitting this Declaration.’ He also alleges, ‘On several occasions after my departure from Mr. Prince’s employ, Mr. Prince’s management has personally threatened me with death and violence.’”

The “John Doe #1,” a former U.S. Marine, said similarly that colleagues of his who had or were preparing to provide information about Blackwater or Prince to investigators had died under mysterious circumstances.

“It is not clear if Doe #1 is still working with the company as he states he is ’scheduled to deploy in the immediate future to Iraq,” Scahill added. “Like Doe #2, he states that he fears ‘violence’ against him for ’submitting this Declaration.’ No further details on the alleged murder(s) are provided.”

The statements also say that Prince and Blackwater executives were involved in illegal weapons smuggling and had, on numerous occasions, ordered incriminating documents, e-mails, photos and video destroyed, according to Scahill.

Prince announced on March 2, 2009, that he had stepped down as chief executive of the security company, which was renamed “Xe” following the Baghdad massacre. Because of the allegedly unprovoked slaughter, Blackwater was banned from working in the country.

The sworn statements by the two men were filed with the court by lawyers for Iraqi civilians who are suing the company for the killings.

Five former Blackwater guards, currently in the custody of U.S. authorities following their arrest in 2008 for the murder of Iraqi civilians, could face up to 30 years in prison.

By Stephen C. Webster | rawstory