Saddam torture victim awarded $88M

[struggle4progress]

An Iraqi man who was tortured in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison during the regime of Saddam Hussein was awarded $88 million in damages Monday by a federal court judge in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Hardiman set the damages after hearing Abdullah K. Alkhuzai, 33, of Overbrook, testify about his capture, imprisonment and torture after an uprising near Nasiriya in March 1991. Alkhuzai sued the former dictator, now in U.S. custody at an undisclosed location, his deceased sons and eight henchmen.

"I feel really great, I feel the U.S.A. got my justice for me. I feel grateful to the U.S.A. government," Alkhuzai said. "I feel I'm a winner because I'm against these people, Saddam Hussein and his generals."

In May, Hardiman granted a default judgment in favor of Alkhuzai, because none of the defendants responded to the lawsuit brought under the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/specialreports/iraq/s_199873.html


I wonder what the recent Abu-Ghraib events will cost US?

[loveable liberal]

1. bush wants to prevent payments to american victims of saddam...

i wonder if he'll try and prevent payments to people of other nations too....

[NMDemDist2]

2. you beat me to it

and welcome to DU LL :hi:

[moondust]

3. Iraqi man....Baghdad....Abu Ghraib....

...federal court judge in Pittsburgh? Wait a minute. Since when does a guy in Pittsburgh have legal jurisdiction over what goes on halfway around the world in another country? Did somebody secretly make Iraq the 51st state?

[struggle4progress]

4. Since we rammed the Torture Victims Protection Act thru Congress ...

... in the mid 1980s! :)

[moondust]

5. So by extension

hundreds of detainees held at Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, and elsewhere and later released could theoretically go to a judge in France or Russia or wherever and file suit against the U.S. for wrongful imprisonment and torture and similarly be awarded millions? Jeez, that could add up to a lot of tax dollars in no time.

[struggle4progress]

6. Our gov't has been putting pressure on other gov'ts not to allow that.

[moondust]

7. Ahhhh Do as we say, not as we do.

That would indeed be Bushco and the Republigoons.

[struggle4progress]

8. But I don't think they support suits like this one at home either. eom

[demoman123]

10. Your reasoning is flawless, but....

Being awarded damages is one thing; collecting is another. Look at how the US thumbs its nose at the World Court. But of course, you know this.

[Sabriel]

9. I just replaced "Saddam" with "*ush," and it made more sense

I'm willing to pay more taxes, if that's where my money will go.