28 February 2011 VOA News Iraqi judges have sentenced a British national working as a security guard to 20 years in prison for the fatal shooting of two other foreign contractors, making him the first Westerner to be sentenced in an Iraqi court since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
The judges found 30-year old Danny Fitzsimons guilty Monday of killing a British and an Australian colleague and attempting to kill an Iraqi guard in a 2009 shooting in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.
Fitzsimons had faced the death penalty.
He admitted shooting the men, but claimed that he acted in self-defense during an alcohol-fueled brawl. The British security guard also said he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
As he was led from the courtroom, Fitzsimons told the Associated Press that he was happy with the sentence, but did not believe that he had a fair trial. His Iraqi lawyer, Tariq Harb said the court ruling was "very good" because it spared the British man from the gallows.
A U.S.-Iraqi security pact that took effect at the start of 2009 removed foreign contractors' immunity from Iraqi prosecution. Iraq had complained that such contractors were acting recklessly in the country.
As he was led from the courtroom, Fitzsimons told the Associated Press that he was happy with the sentence, but did not believe that he had a fair trial. His Iraqi lawyer, Tariq Harb said the court ruling was "very good" because it spared the British man from the gallows.
A U.S.-Iraqi security pact that took effect at the start of 2009 removed foreign contractors' immunity from Iraqi prosecution. Iraq had complained that such contractors were acting recklessly in the country.
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