The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) is a law passed intended to place military contractors under U.S. law.[1][2] The law was used to prosecute former Marine Corps Sgt. Jose Luis Nazario, Jr. for the killing of unarmed Iraqi detainees, but he was ultimately acquitted.[2]
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MEJA was a bill passed in 2000 that allowed persons who are "employed by or accompanying the armed forces" overseas may be prosecuted under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000 for any offense that would be punishable by imprisonment for more than one year if committed within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
"Employed by the armed forces" is defined to include civilian employees of the Department of Defense[ (DoD) as well as its contractors and their employees (including subcontractors at any tier), and, after October 8, 2004, civilian contractors and employees from other federal agencies and "any provisional authority," to the extent that their employment is related to the support of the Department of Defense mission overseas.[3]
By the wording, MEJA is supposed to apply to Private Military Contractors and Private Security Contractors that previously fell out of the jurisdiction of being civilians or military personnel.
The Department of Justice has reported that 12 persons have been charged under MEJA since its passage in 2000, with several investigations underway that may result in charges.[4] Very few successful prosecutions involving DOD contractors in Iraq under MEJA have been reported. A contractor working in Baghdad pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in February 2007.[5] Another contract employee was prosecuted for abusive sexual contact involving a female soldier that occurred at Talil Air Force Base in 2004.[6] A contract employee was indicted for assaulting another contractor with a knife in 2007.[7] In addition, a former U.S. soldier is being prosecuted under MEJA for the rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and the murder of her family while the defendant served on active duty in Iraq.[8] The defendant has challenged the court’s jurisdiction under MEJA, arguing that he was never properly discharged from the military and should instead be subject to court-martial.[9]
Only one time has MEJA been used to successfully prosecute someone: Aaron Langston, a resident of Snowflake, Arizona, was formally charged with assaulting a fellow contractor in Iraq with a knife. Langston was indicted by a federal grand jury in Phoenix on March 1, 2007. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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