News
Judge grants time for Plaintiffs to respond to suggestion of immunity in US war crimes case
BREAKING NEWS: 18 January 2012: The US District Court has granted Plaintiffs’ time till February 3 to respond to the suggestion of immunity document filed by the US Department of Justice, in the War Crimes case against President Mahinda Rajapakse.
Plaintiffs in this case Kasippillai Manoharan et al; have sought judgment under the Torture Victim Protection Act against President Rajapaksa for, inter alia, alleged command responsibility for extrajudicial killings of certain Sri Lankan nationals.
Plaintiffs’ lawyer Bruce Fein called the suggestion of immunity argument ‘outlandish’ and said the document filed by the Department of Justice following a directive by the US State Department does not take into account the specific language of the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act.
The US in a status report filed last week stated it recognized the immunity of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is the President and sitting head of state of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The report also stated that the United States believes that its determination regarding President Rajapaksa’s immunity is dispositive of this matter and therefore it will not address either the political question doctrine or the Act of State doctrine at this time.
Notwithstanding this document the District of Columbia District judge Colleen Kollar Kotelly has granted Plaintiff’s till February 3, to respond.
See the following documents
Order re Statement of Interest dated 30 December 2011
STATUS REPORT SUBMITTED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
SUGGESTION OF IMMUNITY SUBMITTED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA