CJA

An immigration appeals panel has upheld the deportation order of a former El Salvador defense minister who oversaw the torture and killings of thousands of civilians during that country’s bloody civil war.

Supreme Court lets stand a ruling awarding CJA clients $21 million in damages for torture, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other human rights abuses committed by former Somali Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Mohamed Ali Samantar.

Letter to the editor urges Sri Lanka to engage directly with the United Nations investigation and facilitate open and secure engagement for victims in conflict-affected areas. It should immediately appoint an independent prosecutor, autonomous from the attorney general, to investigate past crimes, as Sri Lanka’s own 1994 and 1998 disappearances commissions have recommended.

CJA Staff Attorney Scott Gilmore’s letter to The New York Times regarding the recent deportation of Bosnian war criminals calls on the Justice Department to step up prosecutions: “While commendable, treating war crimes as an immigration matter falls short of our international obligations. What is missing is criminal justice.”

Un teniente retirado del ejército chileno, acusado de haber participado en el asesinato de su compatriota Víctor Jara, pidió a un juez federal de la Florida que desestime la demanda civil en su contra, presentada hace más de un año por la familia del fallecido cantautor y activista político.

CJA welcomes news that Sri Lanka has adopted a witness protection law. The announcement comes days after the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights agreed to temporarily delay until September a U.N. report on human rights abuses in Sri Lanka during and immediately following its 26-year civil war. Click here to read more.

CJA filed a brief yesterday in our historic case Jara v. Barrientos, accepting the defendant’s motion to set aside a default judgment and agreeing not to oppose the removal of the default judgment against former Pinochet Lieutenant Pedro Pablo Barrientos Nuñez, accused of torturing and killing Chilean folksinger and activist Víctor Jara. The family of Mr. Jara welcomed Barrientos’s motion, which, if granted, would allow the case to proceed to a full trial and bring to light the events that transpired surrounding their loved one’s death. Click here to read more.

CJA urges federal district court Judge Gerald Bruce Lee to hear claims by four Iraqi citizens about torture inflicted on them by U.S. military contractor CACI Premier Technology, Inc. Click here to read more in our press release and click here to read more about CJA’s involvement in this case.

CJA’s case against one of Archbishop Romero’s killers is highlighted as Pope Francis recognizes Archbishop Romero’s martyrdom.

CJA sent a letter to U.S. Assistant Secretary Nisha Biswal, encouraging U.S. engagement on Sri Lanka’s human rights record to coincide with Biswal’s visit to Sri Lanka. CJA urged Biswal to acknowledge the positive actions taken by the Sirisena government to build reconciliation with the Tamil community and pressed for additional steps. Click here to read more.