U.S. prosecutors in Iraq Blackwater case meet victims

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Some of the Iraqi victims of a shooting by security guards working for American security firm Blackwater said they had faith in the U.S. legal system after meeting federal prosecutors in Baghdad on Saturday.

Three prosecutors and U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials met victims of the shooting, which took place at a Baghdad intersection on September 16 last year. Five Blackwater guards are charged with killing 14 civilians and wounding 20.

Widows in black, children who lost a parent and men still limping from their wounds were among those who met the U.S. officials, who explained the case while standing before a background of U.S. and Iraqi flags.

"We hope for the best ... I think the attorney is working hard. He's helping us," said Wissam Flayeh, who was wounded in the shooting. He had been holding back a woman to prevent her from running into gunfire to the bodies of her son and husband when he was shot.

The shooting of 17 people that day outraged the Iraqi government and strained U.S.-Iraqi ties. In a 35-count indictment, the U.S. Justice Department on Monday charged the Blackwater guards with 14 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted manslaughter and one weapons violation count.

If convicted, the men face 10 years in prison for each manslaughter charge, plus additional time for the other charges. An arraignment is set for January 6 in Washington.

A sixth Blackwater guard has pleaded guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter and attempted manslaughter.

The closed-door meeting in Baghdad between prosecutors and Iraqis took place at a police building under intense media scrutiny. A crowd of reporters massed outside the meeting hall.

The charges against the Blackwater guards came after more than a year of FBI investigations. The incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama will have to prosecute the case in court.

BLACKWATER DENIES WRONGDOING

"I have hope," said Doraid Ismail, brother of a man killed in the shooting, as he left the meeting. The victims say Blackwater guards blocked traffic at a busy intersection and randomly opened fire at everything and everyone around them.

Blackwater, employed by the U.S. State Department to protect diplomats, denies any wrongdoing.

The company says the guards -- all U.S. military veterans -- were responding to a car bombing while escorting a convoy.

The North Carolina-based firm is the largest security contractor in Iraq, where years of sectarian bloodshed and insurgency and a stretched U.S. military led to an explosion in business for private security firms.

The meeting lasted almost five hours, during which the U.S. officials warned shooting victims to be careful about contact with Blackwater officials, and about details of the case they release to the media, Iraqi participants said.

They were also told the case may last a long time. A civil case as well as the current criminal case is also planned.

"We had individuals here on crutches, others who were wounded, and we just gave them information about the charges in the United States and what we anticipate will happen in court in Washington D.C.," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Kohl.

At Iraq's insistence, security firms working for the U.S. military will lose their immunity from prosecution in Iraq next year under a U.S.-Iraq security pact.

A new sign outside the police building read: "Private security contractors. Slow down. Obey police directions, or you will be arrested and your company's license revoked."

(Editing by Michael Christie and Keith Weir)