PDA

View Full Version : Danny Fitzsimons jailed for Iraq security guard murders



redred
02-28-2011, 11:21 AM
A British security guard has been sentenced to 20 years in jail after being convicted by an Iraqi court of murdering two colleagues.
Danny Fitzsimons, 30, from Rochdale, admitted killing Paul McGuigan, from Peebles, Scotland, and Australian Darren Hoare in August 2009.
Under Iraqi law, a life sentence equates to a 20-year jail term.
Fitzsimons is the first Westerner to be convicted in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion.
He was also convicted of attempting to kill an Iraqi guard.
Green Zone
The former paratrooper, who feared being hanged, said he had been suffering from post-traumatic stress at the time of the killings.
A 2009 US-Iraqi security agreement lifted immunity from prosecution for foreigners.
Fitzsimons claimed he was acting in self-defence when he shot his colleagues, asking the judges to consider a plea agreement which would convict him on lesser manslaughter charges.
Fitzsimons, Mr McGuigan and Mr Hoare had all been working for British security firm ArmorGroup, based in the Iraqi capital's fortified Green Zone, at the time of the shooting.
As Fitzsimons was led away to jail by Iraqi guards, he said he was happy with the sentence, but when asked whether he thought the trial was fair he replied "no", AP reported.
The judge, who cannot be named under Iraqi law, said Fitzsimons' mental condition had been taken into consideration when deciding on the sentence, AP said.
"Danny Fitzsimons, the court has found established evidence that you killed the two slain men and attempted to kill the third," the judge said.
"So the court issues its sentence according to the Iraqi criminal code and sentences you to 20 years in prison."
Fitzsimons' Iraqi lawyer Tariq Harb said after the hearing: "This is a very good sentence. I saved him from the gallows."
Mr Harb said Fitzsimons would appeal within a 30-day deadline.
He added that transferring Fitzsimons to a British jail could be possible since the "relations between the two countries are strong now and diplomacy can bear remarkable influence", AP reported.
Fitzsimons joined the Royal Fusiliers at the age of 16 and was sent on a tour of duty to Kosovo.
'Greatly relieved'
He started working as a private security contractor after leaving the Army.
In a BBC interview before his sentence, Fitzsimons described his greatest fears.
He said: "Obviously hanging, nobody wants to hang, and possibly life imprisonment in one of the worst jails in the world."
After his sentencing, his stepmother, Liz Fitzsimons, said: "Our hearts go out to the families of Paul McGuigan and Darren Hoare, but we are greatly relieved that Danny has not been sentenced to death.
"We now beseech the Iraqi authorities and the British Government to show proper regard for Danny's fragile mental state and ensure his welfare and safety when he is transferred to a prison outside the Green Zone."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-12594245