Judge: Ex-Somali leader in US can be questioned under oath in suit alleging

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Judge: Ex-Somali leader in US can be questioned under oath in suit alleging

 

 

A judge ruled Friday that a former Somali prime

minister who has been living quietly in the U.S. for the last 14 years

can be questioned under oath

 

By Associated Press, Friday, April , 5:49 PM

 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A judge ruled Friday that a former Somali prime

minister who has been living quietly in the U.S. for the last 14 years

can be questioned under oath in a federal lawsuit alleging he oversaw

war crimes and other abuses against his own people more than a quarter

century ago.

 

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema denied a motion to dismiss the

suit against Mohamed Ali Samantar, who was Somalia’s defense minister,

and later prime minister, in the 1980s under the regime of dictator

Siad Barre.

 

The suit against Samantar, who now lives in Fairfax, was first filed

in 2004, alleging that he oversaw abuses committed as part of the

government’s campaign of repression against the ***** clan in the

northern part of the country.

 

The case has languished in the courts for nearly seven years. Brinkema

dismissed the case in 2007, ruling that Samantar was entitled to

immunity. But the U.S.

Supreme Court reinstated the case. And earlier this year the State

Department, in a rare move, recommended to the judge that Samantar

should not receive

immunity, in large part because there is no longer a recognized

central government in Somalia that can request immunity on Samantar’s

behalf.

 

Following Brinkema’s ruling on Friday allowing the case to proceed,

Samantar’s accusers will for the first time be able to question him in

a deposition about alleged abuses, including killings and torture,

against the ***** clan.

 

“This is a great day for justice,” said Natasha Fain, a lawyer with

the San Francisco-based Center for Justice and Accountability, which

is representing the

plaintiffs. “For all this time the defendant has been saying he

shouldn’t even have to answer his accusers in court.”

 

One of the plaintiffs, Aziz M. Deria of Bellevue, Wash., who alleges

that his father and other family members were killed by forces under

Samantar’s direction, flew across the country to attend Friday’s

hearing. He has traveled to Somalia several times to document abuses

that occurred there.

 

“I really want this guy to answer our questions,” said Deria, who

acknowledged that efforts to hold Samantar accountable for his actions

are not universally well received among the Somali community. “Back

home, authority figures are considered above the law.”

 

Joseph Peter Drennan, Samantar’s lawyer, argued Friday that the case

should be tossed out for several reasons, including an expiration of

the statute of limitations. He also said the courts should not wade

into what he argues is essentially a political dispute.

 

Samantar has denied any wrongdoing and did not attend Friday’s

hearing, though many of his family members did.