Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll Files International Law Suit on Behalf of Apartheid Victims.

City Desks, Business/News Editors

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 11, 2002

Today the law firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. along with other firms in the United States joins with the South African firm, Abrahams Kiewitz, in filing a complaint that seeks to hold businesses responsible for aiding and abetting the apartheid regime in South Africa in furtherance of the commission of the crimes of apartheid, forced labor, genocide, extrajudicial killing, torture, sexual assault, and unlawful detention.

The world community recognized apartheid itself as a crime against humanity and a violation of international law. Apartheid could not have been maintained in the same manner without the participation of the defendants.

The lawsuit, Khulumani et al v. Barclays et al., was filed late this afternoon in federal court in the Eastern District of New York. The suit is based on common law principles of liability and on the Alien Tort Claims Act which grants U.S. courts jurisdiction over certain violations of international law, regardless of where they occur.

Twenty-two businesses, representing six industry types, have been named as defendants in the suit. The complaint seeks to hold those businesses, which the suit claims aided and abetted the apartheid regime, responsible. For example: IBM and ICL provided the computers that enabled South Africa to create the hated "pass book system" and to control the black South African population. Car manufacturers provided the armored vehicles that were used to patrol the townships. Arms manufacturers violated the embargoes on sales to South Africa, as did the oil companies. The banks provided the funding that enabled South Africa to expand its police and security apparatus.

Recent historical evidence demonstrates that the involvement of companies in the key industries of mining, transportation, armaments, technology, oil, and financing were not only instrumental to the implementation of the furtherance of the abuses, but were so integrally connected to the abuses themselves that apartheid would probably not have occurred in the same way without their participation.

Cohen Milstein's Michael D. Hausfeld, the lead counsel in the suit said, "Apartheid was an institutionalized system of racial disenfranchisement, forced labor, and criminal domination. It sought to and did exploit and degrade the black South African population for a criminal purpose, through criminal means. Our complaint seeks a measure of justice from those entities which aided or abetted the commission of this atrocity."

A copy of the complaint, as well as a list of the companies named as defendants will be on the firm's website on Tuesday morning at 8:45 AM www.CMHT.com.

A press briefing is scheduled for Tuesday, November 12, at 11:00 AM (EST) at Cohen Milstein, 1100 New York Ave. NW West Tower, Suite 500. Washington, D. C.

Press only call-in lines have been arranged:

Domestic Participants - 1-800-425-7522

International Callers Participants - 415-391-5282

The conference ID is 11110019. Mention "Michael Hausfeld"

conference.