Ex-Somali PM must pay $21 million for alleged torture: U.S. court

[ElPunto]

..WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former Somali prime minister denied diplomatic immunity must pay $21 million in damages to the victims of his alleged torture and human rights abuse, a U.S. federal court ruled on Tuesday.

 

Mohamed Ali Samantar, who served as Somalia's defense minister in the 1980s and prime minister from 1987 to 1990, agreed in February to not contest the charges and accept liability for any damages against the seven plaintiffs - four individuals and three estates.

 

The lawsuit, seeking financial damages from Samantar, was filed under the Torture Victim Protection Act in 2004 by a small group of Somalis who said they suffered torture or other abuses in their homeland by soldiers or other government officials under Samantar's general command.

 

Samantar has lived in Virginia since 1997. Some of the plaintiffs are naturalized U.S. citizens.

 

The case had been followed closely for its foreign policy implications. Granting immunity could allow foreign torturers in the United States to escape responsibility, human rights groups said.

 

The seven plaintiffs do not claim that Samantar personally committed the atrocities or that he was directly involved.

 

But they said the Somali intelligence agencies and the military police under his command engaged in the killings, rapes and torture of civilians, including the use of electric shocks.

 

A federal judge dismissed the original lawsuit. But a U.S. appeals court reinstated it, ruling the 1976 sovereign immunity law does not apply to individuals. In 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Samantar did not have diplomatic protection from lawsuits.

 

On Tuesday U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia Leonie Brinkema ruled that Samantar owed $1 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages to each plaintiff.

 

Samantar is going through bankruptcy proceedings and does not have to pay any damages until after those proceedings are resolved.

 

The case is Bashe Abdi Yousuf et al. v. Mohamed Ali Samantar. Case No. 1:04CV1360

 

(Reporting by Drew Singer; Editing By Howard Goller and Xavier Briand)

 

http://news.yahoo.com/ex-somali-pm-must-pay-21-million-alleged-231314931.html?_esi=1

[ElPunto]

Never did feel sorry for him until now.

[Somalia]

Well that's interesting, they say he wasn't involved directly but a person under him tortured, killed or raped. This is the same law they use to bring down a criminal organization. He's also in no financial shape to pay this, so it's more symbolic I guess. I can't help but feel dismayed by the fact that people like General Mohamed Samatar are sitting in Hargeisa, Somaliland's capital right now enjoying nothing but peace.

[Yunis]

This is not the end. he is already filling an appeal again, plus claiming bankruptcy is an option to confront and agitate his accusers.

[Nin-Yaaban]

WeII this guy is done. He has to Iook forward to bad credit history, collections, wage garnishment and host of other kinds of financial problems. I don't even think he could have a bank account.

[oba hiloowlow]

this is xaqdarro

[Che -Guevara]

oba hiloowlow;862169 wrote:

this is xaqdarro

LOL Why?

[oba hiloowlow]

Che because i know ragga fadhiyo Hargeisa iyo rag farabadan oo kale baa jira oo aan waligood maxkamadii la saari doonin ninkaan maskiinka kaliya maxaa laga rabaa walahi if this guy was part of the big clans this would never happen. I just dont like xaqdarro ama kulli maxkamad hala wada saaro ama halayska dhaafo, wareerka naga daaya yaaqee

[Tillamook]

ElPunto;862152 wrote:

Never did feel sorry for him until now.

Why feel sorry him? If has filed bankruptcy how in the world do you think anyone will make him that 21 million?

[Tillamook]

Nin-Yaaban;862168 wrote:

WeII this guy is done. He has to Iook forward to bad credit history, collections, wage garnishment and host of other kinds of financial problems. I don't even think he could have a bank account.

Not if he flies back home and settles there permanently.

[Tillamook]

oba hiloowlow;862176 wrote:

Che because i know ragga fadhiyo Hargeisa iyo rag farabadan oo kale baa jira oo aan waligood maxkamadii la saari doonin ninkaan maskiinka kaliya maxaa laga rabaa walahi if this guy was part of the big clans this would never happen. I just dont like xaqdarro ama kulli maxkamad hala wada saaro ama halayska dhaafo, wareerka naga daaya yaaqee

Ragga Hargeisa fadhiya are safe in Somalia, not walking around The National Mall in DC as though they were Alice in Wonderland. Maybe this will be a wake call for him to head home and avoid all these petty malicious legal pranks.

[oba hiloowlow]

i know what you mean but still where is the principles, do you think for example Cali dheere, Abu mansuur,fuaad shongole and the likes of them will walk freely in the streets of xamar after some years? Naga dhaafa dee

[Tillamook]

^

No. Those will head home to the caves of Tora Bora...lol

[oba hiloowlow]

^

[Nin-Yaaban]

Tillamook;862178 wrote:

Why feel sorry him? If has filed bankruptcy how in the world do you think anyone will make him that 21 million?

This judgement isn't to coIIect the monies, but to be symbolic. For all intents and purposes, this guy (and his family) wouId forever be under financial microscope.