BAGHDAD – A British security contractor told an Iraqi court Sunday that hes innocent in the 2009 shooting deaths of two of his co-workers, saying he was acting in self-defense after they threatened to kill him in Baghdads Green Zone. Danny Fitzsimons, 30, is the first Westerner to be tried by an Iraqi court since the start of the Iraq war nearly eight years ago.
In an hour of dramatic court testimony, Fitzsimons admitted to a three-judge panel that he shot the two ArmorGroup workers during a quarrel in Baghdads Green Zone. He said all three men had been drinking whiskey before the fight broke out. He described being held at gunpoint by British co-worker Paul McGuigan while Australian contractor Darren Hoare pushed him to the ground.
"I was seconds away from my death so I pulled my pistol," Fitzsimons testified, gesturing with his arms and body to show the judges how the fight occurred. An Iraqi security guard repeatedly poked Fitzsimons to ask him to stop moving his body so wildly. "I shouted twice (for McGuigan) to put down the weapon," Fitzsimons said. "He didnt respond to my commands, my requests, so I made a decision. I shot him twice in the chest." Then he acted out the shooting for the judges. "Bang, bang in his chest," Fitzsimons said. Fitzsimons said he fired a third shot in McGuigans face, and got into a wrestling match with Hoare.