Xe-Blackwater Personnel Shot Iraqi Children, Others in Multiple Incidents, According to Burke O'Neil LLC

The new allegations against several Blackwater-related defendants - now operating as Xe and other names under the control of chairman Erik Prince - include:

    --  the shooting of three Iraqi families in a mini-van that killed
        nine-year-old Akram Khalid Sa'ed Jasim and wounded his
        three-month-old sister, who was shot in the face, his mother, his
        father, and uncle in July 2007;
    --  the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Suhad Shakir Fadhil as she was driving
        home from work in the so-called Green Zone in February 2007;
    --  the shooting of Maulood Mohammed Shathir Husein, a 31-year-old married
        professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Baghdad in August
        2005;
    --  the fatal shooting of 65-year-old Khalis Kareem Ali Al Qaysi, who was
        killed while he was being driven in Baghdad in March 2005;
    --  the severe beating of 35-year-old Iraqi photographer Safeen Hameed Ahmed
        Qadir in April 2008 as he took photographs at a Ford automobile branch
        in the Arbil province that was visited by a U.S. diplomat, and;

    --  the shooting of Husam Hasan Jaber, who was driving three passengers in
        Baghdad in a taxi cab he owns and operates.

The Iraqi families are represented by Burke O'Neil LLC, ofWashington, D.C.

Susan L. Burke, of Burke O'Neil LLC, stated, "The staggering number of civilian deaths inIraq caused by Erik Prince-controlled companies reflects the pattern and practice of recklessness in their use of deadly force. We believe the evidence will show that these mercenaries deployed by Prince and his companies have flouted the laws ofthe United States and their host nation Iraq."

The lawsuit, as first filed in April, alleged that three guards for the state-owned and operated Iraqi Media Network - Sabah Salman Hassoon, a 38-year-old married father of three; Azhar Abdullah Ali, a 33-year-old married father of three; and Nibrass Mohammed Dawood, a 25-year-old - were shot at the rear gate of the network as they tried to move along a slowing car in the King Faisal Square traffic circle on Feb. 7, 2007. The circle separates the Iraqi Media Network and Iraqi Justice Ministry, where Blackwater "shooters" were perched on the roof during a meeting involving a U.S. diplomat.

The amended lawsuit names several Blackwater-related defendants including Prince, Samarus CO LTD, Prince Group LLC, Xe Services LLC (formerly EP Investments LLC and d/b/a Blackwater Worldwide), Greystone Ltd, Total Intelligence Solutions LLC, Xe Services LLC, U.S. Training Center, Inc. (formerly Blackwater Lodge and Training Center, Inc.), GSD Manufacturing LLC (formerly Blackwater Target Systems), Blackwater Security Consulting LLC, and Raven Development Group LLC.

Xe-Blackwater is accused of committing war crimes, assault and battery, wrongful death, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring, training and supervision, and tortious spoliation of evidence.

The lawsuit also alleges violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). According to the complaint, Prince "has created an enterprise that has engaged in a series of illegal acts that suffice as RICO predicate acts extending over a substantial period of time beginning at least in 2003." The RICO allegations include murder in February 2005, December 2006, February 2007, August 2007, September 2007, and May 2009; kidnapping; destruction of audio and videotaped evidence; distribution of controlled substances (steroids); tax evasion; and weapons smuggling. According to the complaint, "The Prince RICO Enterprise continues to exist, continues to engage in repeated illegal acts, and poses a grave and special threat to the social well-being of the world."

Burke added, "We intend to seek a court order that requires Prince to divest himself of any direct or indirect interest in the Prince RICO Enterprise or dissolve the Prince RICO Enterprise after making due provision for the rights of innocents, imposes reasonable restrictions on Prince's future activities or investments, and prohibits Prince from engaging in any mercenary or private military business."

The case is "Estate of Sabah Salman Hassoon, et al., v. Xe, formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, et al.," in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District ofVirginia (Civil Action No. 1:09 cv 618).

Attorney Contact: Susan L. Burke, of Burke O'Neil LLC,Washington, D.C., 202.445.1409.

Media Contact: Erin Powers, Powers MediaWorks LLC, for Burke O'Neil LLC, 281.703.6000.

SOURCE Burke O'Neil LLC

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