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Five former Blackwater Worldwide security guards pleaded not guilty yesterday to United States manslaughter and gun charges resulting from a 2007 shooting in a crowded Baghdad square that killed 17 Iraqi civilians and injured dozens of others.
The five - all decorated military veterans - are charged with 14 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted manslaughter and one count of using a machinegun to commit a crime of violence.
The machinegun charge, typically used in drug cases, carries a 30-year minimum prison sentence.
Jury selection is to begin in January next year for former Marines Donald Ball, Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty and Army veterans Nick Slatten and Paul Slough.
