American "Human Shields" Held in Iraq and Represented by Sprenger & Lang Begin Trial Today in U.S. District Court.Business Editors/Legal Writers WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 9, 2001 Approximately 150 American citizens who were taken hostage by the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (born April 28, 1937, Tikrit, Iraq—died Dec. 30, 2006, Baghdad) President of Iraq (1979–2003). He joined the Ba'th Party in 1957. Following participation in a failed attempt to assassinate Iraqi Pres. in 1990 and who are represented by Sprenger & Lang commence trial today against Iraq in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia is the United States District Court that hears cases originating in the District of Columbia over which federal courts have original jurisdiction. . The claims arise out of injuries sustained as a result of an order issued by Hussein on August 2, 1990, immediately after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait The Invasion of Kuwait, also known as the Iraq-Kuwait War, was a major conflict between the Republic of Iraq and the State of Kuwait which resulted in the 7 month long Iraqi occupation of Kuwait[4] , prohibiting all U.S. citizens and other foreign nationals from leaving either Iraq or Kuwait. Hundreds of Americans were herded to specified locations and used as "human shields" to deter Allied air strikes. The plaintiffs seek to hold Iraq accountable for its abuses of human rights and collectively seek tens of millions of dollars in damages as compensation for the financial and emotional injuries that they have suffered. Despite being served with the Complaint in this case, Iraq and Hussein have failed to appear, and Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson Thomas Penfield Jackson (born January 10, 1937) was a United States District Court Judge for the District of Columbia. He was appointed in 1982 after serving as president of the District of Columbia Bar Association. He is currently an attorney with the Jackson and Campbell, P.C. will seek to arrive at a fair result without input from the defendants. Even after the Judge rules, however, the ability of the plaintiffs to recover will remain uncertain. The plaintiffs' claim is brought under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) of 1976 is a statute under United States law that sets the limitations on how a foreign sovereign nation (or its agents, instrumentalities, or subdivisions) may be sued in U.S. courts. ("FSIA FSIA Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act "), which authorizes suits against countries that have been designated as "terrorist states" by the State Department when those states perpetrate per·pe·trate tr.v. per·pe·trat·ed, per·pe·trat·ing, per·pe·trates To be responsible for; commit: perpetrate a crime; perpetrate a practical joke. acts of terrorism against American citizens. The FSIA provides for jurisdiction in cases, such as this one, which allege that a foreign government has violated the International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages by seizing American citizens in order to extract concessions from the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Last year, the House of Representatives passed a bill that amended the FSIA to allow enforcement of judgments out of frozen assets Frozen Assets is a novel by P.G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on July 14 1964 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York under the title Biffen's Millions, and in the United Kingdom on August 14 1964 by Herbert Jenkins, London. of countries supporting terrorist activities, such as Iraq. However, at the last minute, a compromise was brokered under which the Secretary of the Treasury was instructed to pay compensatory damages A sum of money awarded in a civil action by a court to indemnify a person for the particular loss, detriment, or injury suffered as a result of the unlawful conduct of another. to only certain victims of Iranian and Cuban terrorism out of the frozen assets of those countries. "President Bush has stated that the United States must punish not only terrorists, but also the states that sponsor terrorists. Right now, terrorism is a cheap way for those states to pursue war against Americans," said lead counsel, Daniel Wolf, of the law firm Sprenger & Lang. "Passage of the Patriot Bill to permit collection of judgments under the FSIA will impose a direct and immediate cost on the governments that engage in terrorist activities. The FSIA then will become one more weapon in the war against terrorism. And only then will the FSIA also become an instrument for doing justice by permitting those Americans who were victims of terrorism to receive compensation for the horrors they experienced," Wolf added. The facts of the case are chilling. Hundreds of American citizens and other foreign nationals who were trapped in Iraq and bordering countries were required to congregate at specified locations and detained against their will. American citizens found outside these locations were seized by Iraqi forces and taken to military installations and other strategic sites, where they were used as "human shields" to deter Allied air attack. While Hussein authorized the release of female and child hostages in early September, the crisis did not end until mid-December when, under intense international pressure, he issued orders freeing the remaining male hostages and permitting them to return to the United States. Recently, the House has adopted a bill, called the Patriot Bill, that would enable all victims of terrorism, including the American citizens who were used as human shields by the Government of Iraq, to enforce U.S. court judgments against terrorist states by collecting from the frozen assets of those states. The bill is now under consideration in the Senate. About Sprenger & Lang Sprenger & Lang, PLLC PLLC Professional Limited Liability Company PLLC Polk Life and Learning Center (Bartow, FL) PLLC Partners of Limited Liability Corporation , with offices in Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis, Minnesota, primarily represents employees and other aggrieved individuals in class action and other complex multi-plaintiff litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. across the nation. For further information, please contact the persons listed above or visit the website concerning the case at www.iraqcase.com. |
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