June 13, 2010
Federal Court to Decide Whether Nigerian Plaintiffs Get New Trial Over Oil Giant’s Complicity in Human Rights Abuses in Nigeria.
San Francisco, CA: Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear argument in the landmark human rights case Bowoto v. Chevron, which charges Chevron Corporation with complicity in brutal attacks against nonviolent demonstrators in Nigeria who protested the company's environmental destruction and economic disruption in their communities. In 1998, after Chevron called in the Nigerian military and “kill and go” police to respond to a community protest at an offshore oil platform, two demonstrators were killed, others were shot, and several others were detained and tortured. In December 2008, a San Francisco jury found in favor of Chevron, in a trial that the plaintiffs believe was tainted by several significant errors. The plaintiffs are arguing to the Ninth Circuit that the trial court improperly allowed evidence and argument to show that the plaintiffs’ ethnic group had a propensity for violence, that the jury instructions misstated the law, and that the trial court improperly dismissed claims that the killing of protestor Arolika Irowarinun violated international law.
The University of San Francisco School of Law (USF), Frank C. Newman International Human Rights Law Clinic will be videotaping the hearing and may make copies available to media upon request
WHAT: Bowoto v. Chevron Corp., No. 09-15641, appeal form jury verdict
WHEN: Today, June 14, 2010, 9:00 a.m. Pacific time (the Bowoto argument is the first hearing on the calendar today and will likely be heard before 10:30 am PST)
WHERE: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
James R. Browning United States Courthouse
Courtroom 1, 3rd Floor
95 Seventh Street
San Francisco, California 94103
WHO: Theresa Traber, Partner at Traber & Voorhees and co-counsel with EarthRights International, will argue for the Plaintiffs on appeal
Other counsel for the Plaintiffs may be available in advance or after the hearing; for more information please contact the above directly
Background
Bowoto v. Chevron Corp. arises out of a May 1998 protest by members of ethnic Ilaje communities in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, who occupied Chevron’s Parabe Platform in a nonviolent protest for three days, demonstrating against the environmental and economic havoc wreaked by oil production in the delta. After the protestors had agreed to leave the platform, Chevron made the decision to send in soldiers and mobile police, known locally as the “kill and go.” The soldiers were admittedly paid by Chevron, ferried to the platform in Chevron helicopters and supervised by Chevron personnel. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of four victims of the assault, one of whom was killed, two of whom were shot and wounded, and one of whom was detained for weeks and severely tortured. More information about the case can be found at http://www.earthrights.org/legal/bowoto-v-chevron.
In addition to Traber & Voorhees and EarthRights International, the plaintiffs are represented by the private law firms of Hadsell Stormer Keeny Richardson & Renick and Siegel & Yee; and Cindy Cohn and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Robert Newman, Paul Hoffman, Richard Wiebe, Anthony DiCaprio, Michael Sorgen, and Judith Chomsky and the Center for Constitutional Rights. On appeal the case is No. 09-15641.
About EarthRights International (ERI)
EarthRights International is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization that combines the power of law and the power of people in defense of human rights and the environment, which we define as “earth rights.” We specialize in fact-finding, legal actions against perpetrators of earth rights abuses, training grassroots and community leaders, and advocacy campaigns. Through these strategies, ERI seeks to end earth rights abuses, to provide real solutions for real people, and to promote and protect human rights and the environment in the communities where we work.
www.earthrights.org
San Francisco, CA: Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear argument in the landmark human rights case Bowoto v. Chevron, which charges Chevron Corporation with complicity in brutal attacks against nonviolent demonstrators in Nigeria who protested the company's environmental destruction and economic disruption in their communities. In 1998, after Chevron called in the Nigerian military and “kill and go” police to respond to a community protest at an offshore oil platform, two demonstrators were killed, others were shot, and several others were detained and tortured. In December 2008, a San Francisco jury found in favor of Chevron, in a trial that the plaintiffs believe was tainted by several significant errors. The plaintiffs are arguing to the Ninth Circuit that the trial court improperly allowed evidence and argument to show that the plaintiffs’ ethnic group had a propensity for violence, that the jury instructions misstated the law, and that the trial court improperly dismissed claims that the killing of protestor Arolika Irowarinun violated international law.
The University of San Francisco School of Law (USF), Frank C. Newman International Human Rights Law Clinic will be videotaping the hearing and may make copies available to media upon request
WHAT: Bowoto v. Chevron Corp., No. 09-15641, appeal form jury verdict
WHEN: Today, June 14, 2010, 9:00 a.m. Pacific time (the Bowoto argument is the first hearing on the calendar today and will likely be heard before 10:30 am PST)
WHERE: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
James R. Browning United States Courthouse
Courtroom 1, 3rd Floor
95 Seventh Street
San Francisco, California 94103
WHO: Theresa Traber, Partner at Traber & Voorhees and co-counsel with EarthRights International, will argue for the Plaintiffs on appeal
Other counsel for the Plaintiffs may be available in advance or after the hearing; for more information please contact the above directly
Background
Bowoto v. Chevron Corp. arises out of a May 1998 protest by members of ethnic Ilaje communities in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, who occupied Chevron’s Parabe Platform in a nonviolent protest for three days, demonstrating against the environmental and economic havoc wreaked by oil production in the delta. After the protestors had agreed to leave the platform, Chevron made the decision to send in soldiers and mobile police, known locally as the “kill and go.” The soldiers were admittedly paid by Chevron, ferried to the platform in Chevron helicopters and supervised by Chevron personnel. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of four victims of the assault, one of whom was killed, two of whom were shot and wounded, and one of whom was detained for weeks and severely tortured. More information about the case can be found at http://www.earthrights.org/legal/bowoto-v-chevron.
In addition to Traber & Voorhees and EarthRights International, the plaintiffs are represented by the private law firms of Hadsell Stormer Keeny Richardson & Renick and Siegel & Yee; and Cindy Cohn and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Robert Newman, Paul Hoffman, Richard Wiebe, Anthony DiCaprio, Michael Sorgen, and Judith Chomsky and the Center for Constitutional Rights. On appeal the case is No. 09-15641.
About EarthRights International (ERI)
EarthRights International is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization that combines the power of law and the power of people in defense of human rights and the environment, which we define as “earth rights.” We specialize in fact-finding, legal actions against perpetrators of earth rights abuses, training grassroots and community leaders, and advocacy campaigns. Through these strategies, ERI seeks to end earth rights abuses, to provide real solutions for real people, and to promote and protect human rights and the environment in the communities where we work.
www.earthrights.org
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