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More information on
Lumintang caseFindings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in Doe v.
Lumintang
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. BACKGROUND: HISTORY OF EAST TIMOR
II. LIEUTENANT GENERAL JOHNY LUMINTANG
A. Actions before 1999
B. From January 1999 to August 30, 1999.
C. From August 30, 1999 on.
III. JANE DOE I
IV. JOHN DOE I
V. JOHN DOE II
VI. JOHN DOE III
VI. JOHN DOE IV
VII. JOHN DOE V
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW WITH RESPECT TO JURISDICTION AND LIABILITY
I. SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION
A. ALIEN TORT CLAIMS ACT
B. TORTURE VICTIM PROTECTION ACT
C. FEDERAL QUESTION JURISDICTION
D. SUPPLEMENTAL JURISDICTION
II. DEFENDANT'S LIABILITY FOR COMPENSATORY AND PUNITIVE
DAMAGES
A. PRINCIPLES OF COMMAND RESPONSIBILITY
III. DAMAGES
A. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF COMPENSATORY AND PUNITIVE
DAMAGES
B. COMPENSATORY DAMAGES
C. PUNITIVE DAMAGES
1. Evidence of similar acts, or a pattern of similar
activity not directed specifically against plaintiffs is
relevant in assessing punitive damages
CONCLUSION
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UNITED
STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
| ______________________________________
)
JANE DOE, ET AL.,
)
)
Plaintiffs,
)
)
v.
)
)
MAJOR GENERAL
JOHNY
)
LUMINTANG,
)
)
Defendant.
)
)
)
______________________________________ |
Civil
Action No. 00-674 (GK)(AK) |
|
|
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
This is an action for, inter alia, torture, wrongful death,
summary execution, assault, battery and intentional infliction of
emotional distress brought by citizens of East Timor Jane Doe and John
Does I - V, on their own behalf and on behalf of their deceased relatives.
Major General Johny Lumintang, an Indonesian military officer, is named as
the defendant, in his position of Vice Chief of Staff of the Indonesian
military, for designing, ordering, and directing a campa ign of violence
and intimidation against the people of East Timor which resulted in the
wrongs suffered by the plaintiffs. Jurisdiction in this case is founded
upon the Alien Tort Claims Act ("ATCA"), 28 U.S.C. § 1350, the
Torture Victim Protection Act ("TPVA"), Pub. L. No. 102-256, 106
Stat. 78 (1992), codified as 28 U.S.C. § 1350 note, and principles of
supplemental jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1367.
This case is before the
Court for trial on damages, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2). On
November 8, 2000, United States District Judge Gladys Kessler entered a
default judgment against Defendant Major
General Johny Lumintang, who failed to file an Answer or otherwise appear.1 On March 21, 2001 the case was referred to the undersigned for
all Purposes, including trial. On March 27-29, 2001, the Court conducted a
non-jury trial to establish the amount of damages. At trial, plaintiffs
presented the testimony of eight witnesses: Richard Tanter, Professor of
International Relations and Comparative Politics at Japan's Kyoto Seika
University; John Doe III; Jane Doe; Theodore Folke, documentary filmmaker
for the United Nations; John Doe II; Arnold Kohen, author on East Timor
and consultant for the human rights organization The Humanitarian Project;
Ian Thomas, cartographer and remote sensing specialist; and Estella Abosch,
social worker and member, Advocates for Survival of Torture and Trauma. In
addition, plaintiffs presented approximately 40 exhibits in support of
their claims, including videotaped depositions of [...], a friend of John
Doe I who worked with him for East Timor's independence, and John Doe IV.
Because the defendant Major General Lumintang has presented no defense,
the Court will accept the plaintiffs' uncontroverted evidence as true. See,e.g.,
Elhai v Islamic Republic of Iran, 124 F.Supp.2d 97, 99 (D.D.C.
2000).
Upon careful consideration of the evidence presented at trial and the
entire record in this case, the Court finds that a judgment for damages
shall be rendered in favor of plaintiffs as more fully set forth below.
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FINDINGS OF FACT
I. BACKGROUND: HISTORY OF EAST TIMOR
1. Timor is a Pacific Ocean island which lies approximately 400
kilometers northwest of Darwin, Australia. In the 19th Century,
European colonization of Southeast Asia resulted in the division of the
Island of Timor into two parts. The western part was under Dutch control; the eastern part under Portuguese control. When the Republic
of Indonesia was formed as a result of the war against the Dutch between
1945 and 1949, Dutch West Timor became part of the Republic of Indonesia.
East Timor remained as a Portuguese colony at that time. That was the
situation which prevailed up until December 1975.
2. Beginning in August, 1975, there were increasing numbers of border
incursions into East Timor by Indonesian Armed Forces. On December 7,
1975, Indonesia invaded East Timor proper. Between 133,000 to 200,000 East
Timorese disappeared during the period 1975 to 1979 as a result of
Indonesian Army actions. Numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions
condemned this action.
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II. LIEUTENANT GENERAL JOHNY LUMINTANG
A. Actions before 1999
3. Between 1975 and 1979, Defendant Lumintang was a lieutenant or
captain in the infantry. He took part in the Indonesian invasion of East
Timor. Although he was assigned principally to East Timor, he took part in
operations in Irian Jaya, which is the western part of the island of New
Guinea. Irian Jaya was another area where the Indonesian Armed Forces
brutally suppressed local resistance, including bombings of villages.
4. Defendant later held senior command positions in field operation
posts. From 1993 to 1994, Lumintang was the Commander of Military Resort
Command in East Timor, identified as "Korem 164". Subsequently
Lumintang was promoted to the position of Commander of the First Infantry
Division of "Kostrad," the army strategic reserve command. In
1996, Lumintang became the Chief of Staff of Military Area Command 8,
which included the province of Irian Jaya, the western part of New Guinea and also the
Island of Moluccas to the north.
B. From January 1999 to August 30, 1999.
5. In 1998, after widespread discontent in Indonesia proper, President
Suharto resigned and his vice president, Dr. Habibie, became the President
of Indonesia. On January 28, 1999, President Habibie made an unexpected
announcement that he was prepared to consider the possibility of a ballot
in East Timor to allow the East Timorese people to decide between
autonomy" as a special part of Indonesia or independence.
6. On January 18, 1999, Lumintang became the Army Deputy Chief of
Staff. As a Lieutenant General, Lumintang held the second highest rank in
the Tentara National Indonesia ("TNI"), the Indonesian armed
forces. He was directly responsible to the Army Chief of Staff, who in
turn was directly responsible to the Commander of the Armed Forces. See
March 27, 2001 Trial Transcript at 42-48.
7. At trial, Professor Richard Tanter, an expert in the Indonesian
military, explained that Lumintang's duties as the Army Deputy Chief of
Staff were as follows:
(a) The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army is the principal aide and
adviser to the Army Chief of Staff, and has the duty and obligation to
lead, organize and guide staff and leadership bodies, and Central Service
and Executive bodies, as well as other duties as instructed by the Chief
of Staff, and other responsibilities as follows:
(1) To make proposals and suggestions to the Chief of Staff on matters
concerning his area of responsibility;
(2) To lead the Inspector General, General Staff, Special Staff, and
Budget and Planning Staff, in formulating plans and programs of the
execution of the Army's duties;
(3) To ensure coordination is effected and maintained between Army
Headquarter Staff and Army field bodies and commands; between Army
Headquarter staff and the
Headquarter Staff of other parts of the Armed Forces and Police, and
Army Headquarter staff and the staff of Armed Forces Headquarters and
the staff of the Military Defense and Security.
(4) To coordinate, control and supervise the execution of Army
decisions, plans, and programs, as well as personnel, material, and
financial arrangements;
(5) To coordinate, supervise, and give direction to the staff
Central Service and Executive bodies.
(b) Whenever the Deputy Chief of Staff is prevented from carrying out
his duties he shall be replaced by an officer appointed by the Army Chief
of Staff.
(c) The Deputy Army Chief of Staff is responsible in the execution of
his duties as outlined above to the Army Chief of Staff. See March
27, 2001 Trial Transcript at 73-75.
8. The Indonesian Army s operations are formally carried out through
three commands: (1) Military Area Command ("Kodam"), and within
that, the Military Resort Command ("Korem"); (2) Special Forces
("Kopassus"); (3) Army Strategic Reserve Command ("Kostrad"),
which is basically the fighting part of the army. As Army Deputy Chief of
Staff, the defendant had direct responsibility for all three. See Id.
at 44.
9. In East Timor, paramilitary auxiliary forces, commonly known as
militias, were also under the command of the Indonesian Army. Although
these militias were present throughout Indonesia's occupation of East
Timor, in late 1998, many additional militias were formed. In August 1998,
they became effectively part of the Indonesian Armed Forces. The militia
expansion, formation, and arming continued rapidly. In December 1998 and
January1999, new and more militias were formed, and they spread throughout the
territory. The militias were instructed, supported, and guided by
Indonesian Army officers. They also received arms directly from the
Indonesian Military Area Resort Command.
10. Militia assaults on unarmed villages throughout East Timor began
after Indonesian President Habibie’s January 1999 announcement.
11. On February 16, 1999, as part of the military's coordination with
the militias, a meeting took place in East Timor involving Lieutenant
Colonel Sudrajat, who was head of the Combined Intelligence Task Force,
part of the Special Forces Command, Kopassus, and all of the principal
militia leaders. At the meeting, Sudrajat demanded that independence
leaders and their families be "wiped out." Sudrajat operated
within Kopassus. This command position was directly subject to the command
of the Army Chief of Staff for planning, operations and for the
implementation of operations. Lumintang, as Deputy Chief of Staff, was
specifically responsible to supervise the implementation of Lieutenant
Colonel Sudrajat's activities with Kopassus. See March 27, 2001 Trial
Transcript, 75-76.
12. On the 26th of March, 1999, a group of senior Indonesian civil and
military officials at the Military Headquarters in East Timor's capital
city, Dili, met with militia leaders. At that meeting, the Governor of
East Timor, Abilio Soares, directed the militias to prepare to liquidate
all senior pro-independence people and their parents, sons, daughters, and
grandchildren. If they sought shelter in the churches, they were to be
killed along with the nuns and priests. Id. at 98.
13. One place Soares' order was implemented was in Liquica, a large
town west of Dili. Fifteen young men from a militia group called Besi
Merah Putih ("BMP"), together with Indonesia troops from the
Military Resort Command, local -military police, and the elite military force (the Police Mobile Brigade), surrounded a church
in Liquica where a number of people, with their priest, had gathered
following the previous day's killing. The military killed fifty-four
people in the church grounds in Liquica that day. Id. at 84. The
foregoing was not an isolated incident; such killings had been happening
repeatedly on a lesser scale and continued thereafter.
14. In his official capacity, Lumintang was responsible, with the
Inspector General, for the scrutiny of the manner in which operations and
strategic planning were carried out. Further, Lumintang held a position of
responsibility to address and assist in military discipline. As the second
ranking person in the Army, defendant played a prominent role in reviewing
the manner in which military operations were carried out. That this is
particularly true is evident from the structure of the Indonesian military
and the clear and detailed obligations that were assigned to Lumintang in
his position as Deputy Chief of Staff. However, Lumintang failed to impose
any disciplinary measures upon any individual subordinate to him for the
events at Liquica, or elsewhere, despite his ability to do so. Id.
at 86-89.
15. On May 5, 1999, a formal international agreement was signed
between the United Nations and the governments of Indonesia and East Timor
("the May 5th Agreement") to conduct a referendum known as the
Popular Consultation of East Timor. As part of the May 5th Agreement,
security in the Province of East Timor for the duration of the ballot and
its preparation was assigned to the Indonesian Armed Forces.
16. Also on May 5, 1999, Lieutenant General Lumintang issued a
telegram, instructing the responsible local commander in East Timor to
anticipate situations which may arise from the vote and to "prepare a
security plan with the aim of preventing the outbreak of civil
war..." Although this suggested possible civil war, there was no
two-sided fighting. Instead, there were assaults by pro-integration forces, supported by
the military, on anyone who spoke or was believed to be speaking for
independence. The telegram also directed the military to prepare for
"evacuation." Id. at 90-93.
17. Another example of Defendant's direct role in the events that
transpired both immediately before and after the August 30, 1999 Popular
Consultation occurred on June 30, 1999. On that date, a manual bearing
Lumintang's signature was issued. This manual provided instructions for
army secret warfare including instructions about education, training and
examination of army personnel. Page 35 of the manual directed training in,
inter alia, abduction, killing, kidnapping, terror, and agitation. Id.
at 93-95. This manual was distributed to and used by soldiers in East
Timor, including those at Korem 164, Lumintang's previous command.
18. On June 18th, 1999, another meeting took place in East Timor at
army headquarters, Korem l64, in Dili. The attendees included Major
General Anwar, then the official head of security for the Indonesian
liaison contingent with the United Nations Administration Assistance for
East Timor ("UNAMET"), and his deputy, Korem 164 'Commander,
Colonel Tono Suratman, and the militia leaders. Acknowledging the
possibility that the East Timorese would vote for independence, at that
meeting the ground work was created for the Indonesian military to respond
to such an outcome. The plans were structured in two parts. The first
portion involved attempts to disrupt the Popular Consultation, either in
the days leading up to the vote or by interference with voting on the day
of the vote. If these efforts were not successful and the East Timorese
voted for independence, Militia were to reject the results and to demand
that East Timor be partitioned into a pro-Indonesian part and an
independent part. This plan included forced relocation of the local East
Timor population and the re-population and transmigration into what would then be empty
regions of East Timor. Id. at 99-100.
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C. From August 30, 1999 on.
19. On August 30, 1999, the Popular Consultation was held. Ninety eight
percent of those East Timorese who were eligible voted. Nearly 79 percent
of the East Timorese voted in favor of independence and against autonomy.
20. Although the results of the vote were not announced until September
4, 1999, after the vote on August 30th, pro-Indonesian militias
and TNI forces began a sustained and coordinated program of massive
destruction which continued until the arrival of an international military
peacekeeping forces (" ") on September 21 or 22, 1999.
21. Violence was directed against independence leaders, their families,
and ordinary civilians. Many people were killed immediately. The
destruction also took other forms: major buildings, homes, cars, and shops
were blown up or burnt. Most schools were destroyed. See March 28,
2001 Trial Transcript at 66-69; Exhibit 26.
22. On September 6, 1999, intense fires began in East Timor. Given the
size, location and temperature, none of these fires could have been caused
by natural forces. Experts from the Australian Weather Service monitoring
a European satellite called ERS1 tracked and identified these fires
between September 6 and September 28, which occurred in groups and
clusters which directly corresponded to the locations of towns, villages
and settlements in East Timor. On September 9, 1999 large areas of Dili
were afire. See March 29, 2001 Trial Transcript at 22-27.
23. East Timorese were also forced to gather, first at the local
district or subdistrict military headquarters by militia where they were
held either by militia in concert with TNI personnel or by armed soldiers.
Once gathered, they then were forced over the border into West Timor. Some of these people traveled by ship, many were transported in
military headquarters' trucks and jeeps. Others went in stolen vehicles.
Information released by the United Nations indicates that between
September 4th and September 21st 1999, the date INTERFET arrived in Dili,
some 240,000 people, or a third of the population was relocated from East
Timor in less than 20 days. The forced evacuation of approximately
one-third of the East Timor population was the result of long-term
strategizing and planning that required the coordinated work of the
Indonesian military and militia. This depopulation was consistent with the
strategies discussed at the June 18, 1999 meeting involving Major General
Syahnakri and Suki Anwar and with the general character of the telegram
sent by Lumintang on May 5, 1999.
24. In February 2001, Defendant Lumintang became the Secretary of the
Department of Defense of Indonesia.
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III. JANE DOE I
25. Jane Doe I was born on March 24, 1944 in the village of Same, East
Timor. She is 56 years old. She and her husband were married on August 30,
1980. They had nine children, the youngest of whom is identified in this
case as John Doe 1. John Doe I was shot by pro-Indonesian militia acting
in concert with the TNI on October 11, 1999.
26. Jane Doe I testified under a pseudonym because she was afraid of
possible reprisals if her real identity were known.
27. Jane Doe I's children attended school. John Doe I went through his
junior year of high school, and Jane Doe I anticipated sending him to
college.
28. Jane Doe I's children, especially John Doe 1, participated in
political demonstrations supporting independence for East Timor. While she
was proud of their activism, she was constantly apprehensive about their safety. Her children always
responded that they would be all right.
29. After the January 1999 announcement by President Habibie, an
Indonesian civil servant went door to door to distribute pamphlets urging
a vote for autonomy within Indonesia. This person said to Jane Doe 1,
"Now you are under our domain, so you have to vote for the autonomy.
Otherwise, your life will be in danger."
30. Jane Doe I's family voted together on August 30th, 1999. After the
vote they discussed possible precautions for their safety. Jane Doe I
urged that they should be quiet and remain at home, telling her family
that if something should happen, they could be together and that if they
had to die, then at least they would die together at home. She argued with
her son, John Doe I, who wanted to flee the family home. She did not want
to give him money to go to John Doe his friends because she would not know
if anything happened to him. However, finally she gave him a little money
and he left. That was the last time she saw her youngest child alive.
31. After John Doe I left the house, Jane Doe I and her family were
told by a neighbor who was an Indonesian soldier that they should leave.
She did not because she was expecting John Doe I to return.
32. On September 6, 1999, Jane Doe I and her family were forced to
leave their home by an Indonesian policeman who demanded the key to the
house and said a car was waiting to take the family to West Timor. The
only things they left with were the house documents and family
photographs.
33. Jane Doe I and her family left Dili in their own car, forced to
join other civilians being exiled in a caravan of cars and trucks
commandeered by the Indonesian army. They arrived at a large camp in the
West Timor border town of Noelbaki the next day. The Indonesian military
and the militias were running the camp. She and her husband and their
eight children and two grandchildren slept in the car that night. As they
tried to sleep, they could hear gunfire in the rice fields surrounding the
camp. Fearful for their safety, they left at five o'clock the next
morning. During their trip they were stopped by the Indonesian soldiers
and police who told them they could go west but could not return to East
Timor.
34. Jane Doe I and her family went to Kupang, the capital of West
Timor, then boarded a ferry to another Indonesian city called Maumere,
where they stayed. There was no work and they lived off money from her
daughter in Australia.
35. Subsequently, the family decided to return to East Timor. They sold
their car and received travel documents from the mayor of Maumere and
returned to Dili after a five-day delay in Kupang.
36. When Jane Doe I returned to Dili, she found her home destroyed. She
and her family built a temporary residence near her son-in-law's where the
family resided.
37. Because of the panic and chaos that ensued in East Timor, Jane Doe
I did not 'know of the whereabouts of John Doe I until October 11, 1999,
when she received a call from her daughter telling her that John Doe I had
been killed.
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IV. JOHN DOE I
38. John Doe I had finished his junior year in high school at the time
of his death. Although he and other activists initially fled to the hills
immediately following the vote on August 30, 1999, he had returned to his
home village of Becora in early September.
39. After the results of the vote were announced, people in Becora
began to celebrate. John Doe I was in the village. The sound of gunfire
could be heard, and homes were set on fire. After setting fire to these
homes, TNI soldiers and militia started to loot other homes.
40. The TNI and militia began
firing at people. They first shot and killed a teacher. A crowd of people
had gathered on a main street in Becora, and an armed group of TNI
soldiers and militia approached the crowd and fired into it. A large group
of armed TNI soldiers and militia approached John Doe I and others who had
congregated to celebrate East Timor's independence from Indonesia. As they
started to run, the soldiers and the militia began firing at them. John
Doe I was shot in the leg. Others present helped John Doe I to escape.
41. The TNI and militia blocked the major roads in East Timor as the
situation worsened. The main streets were full of many TNI and militia.
Other members of the TNI, including Kopassus members, were also present,
prohibiting John Doe I from receiving medical care.
42. John Doe I and the others fled Becora, remaining there until
INTERFET's arrival in East Timor. Subsequently, John Doe I was transported
to the hospital in Dili, where he underwent surgery. Despite the efforts
of the hospital's medical personnel, John Doe I died of his wounds.
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V. JOHN DOE II
43. John Doe II was born on April 5, 1970 in the village of Liquica,
East Timor. He was 30 years old at the time of trial, is unmarried, and
has no children.
44. When Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975, John Doe II, his parents
and other family members fled to the hills of East Timor. While living in
the hills his parents became ill, and, due to the unavailability of
medical care, died. He remained in hiding for approximately 3 years,
living with relatives. Eventually he and others were arrested by
Indonesian military personnel and removed to a village named Atabae.
45. John Doe II eventually returned to Liquica, where he resided with
relatives until approximately 1982, when he relocated to Caicoli, a
village in Dili. There he resided with his half-brother. In Caicoli, John
II attended school for approximately two years.
46. In 1990, John Doe II began employment, working for a master
laborer, as a general construction laborer.
47. Sometime in the early 1990's, John Doe II became active in
politics; initially with a student youth movement and then, subsequently
in 1998, as an official member of the East Timor Resistance Movement.
After voting in the Popular Consultation on August 30, 1999, John Doe II
became fearful for his safety. To protect himself, he left his village
during the evenings, staying in the hills and returning to his village
each day.
48. On September 1, 1999, while John Doe II was present in Caicoli, he
observed a group of militia members arrive in the village and witnessed
them burning the home of one of the residents, Mr. Caetano, to the ground.
This caused John Doe II and many other residents to flee to the mountains.
John Doe II remained in the mountains until September 4, 1999, when he
traveled to the UNAMET headquarters in Balide, Dili. However, when he
arrived at UNAMET, there were many Indonesian military personnel present
there. Fearing for his safety, he again fled, this time to the hills above
Dili, arriving in a small village called Dare.
49. In Dare, John Doe II lived in the bush with many other people who
were also in hiding. There he survived on food he had received from UNAMET
and vegetables he was able to acquire from local farmers.
50. On September 10, 1999, he and the other people in hiding ran out of
food, forcing John Doe II to leave Dare the next morning in search of
food. John II found biscuits in a home that had been abandoned. As he was returning to hiding, John Doe II
encountered seven Indonesian army personnel. These men were outfitted in
Indonesian army uniforms.
51. Three of the soldiers called to him, directed him to come over to
them and began to interrogate him, first inquiring what he was carrying.
John Doe II identified the bag of biscuits. The soldiers then asked him if
he was taking these biscuits to members of FRETILIN or FALINTIL, two East
Timorese pro-independence organizations. John Doe II responded that the
biscuits were for his family.
52. The soldiers asked for John Doe II's identification card and his
wallet, which he gave them. From the wallet the soldiers found a receipt
for money that John Doe II had donated to FALINTIL. The soldiers then
asked John Doe II if he was a member of FALINTIL, he replied that he was
not and they then inquired about the receipt. He explained that he had
given money to an individual, and not to FALINTIL directly. The soldiers
asked John Doe II if he had any knowledge about the circumstances
surrounding the death of an Indonesian soldier in Dili and he indicated
that he did not.
53. The soldiers then began kicking him in the ribs, the leg, and the
face. John Doe II pleaded with them, telling them that he knew nothing
about the death of the Indonesian soldier, but they accused him of lying.
54. As the soldiers beat John Doe II, another soldier, who was also
dressed in an Indonesian army uniform, approached. The soldier advised
John II to gather his belongings and leave.
55. As John Doe II was about to leave, there was gunfire. In response,
the three soldiers dropped to the ground and started firing their weapons
in the air. When they stopped, they took John Doe II into their custody, and forced him to walk up a
hill to an army barracks. There were three other soldiers present at these
barracks when he arrived there.
56. One of the three soldiers that John Doe II had originally
encountered then struck John Doe II in the mouth and chin with a rifle,
swinging the rifle like a baseball bat. Because of the force of the blow
and because the barracks was located on a hill, John II fell and began to
tumble down the hill.
57. As he began to run, the soldiers shot at John Doe II and he was
struck with a bullet in the left leg. John Doe II saw that the portion of
his leg below the wound was almost totally severed and he bled profusely
from the wound. Unable to walk, John Doe II "snaked' toward the Maloa
River.
58. Eventually John Doe II encountered two men who were hiding in a
home. The pain from his wound was so intense that he asked these men to
kill him. They refused and brought John Doe II to a doctor who
administered anesthesia to him, but could not effectively treat his
injury.
59. The two men then took John Doe II back to Dare. In Dare, John Doe
encountered members of his family who then took John Doe II into their
care and custody.
60. Due to the presence of the Indonesian military, which made travel
unsafe, John Doe II remained in Dare from September 11, 1999 through
September 24, 1999, subsequent to the arrival of INTERFET.
61. During this period of time, John Doe II's condition worsened; his
wound began to decay, emitting a foul odor; he could not talk; he
developed a fever and he lapsed in and out of consciousness.
62. On September 24, 1999, John Doe II was transported to a hospital in
Dili. His foot was amputated on September 25. He remained hospitalized
until October 25, 1999.
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VI. JOHN DOE III
1. John Doe III is 27 years old, and was born in Hato-Udo Ainaro, East
Timor. He is married and has two children. John Doe III is John Doe IV's
son and John Doe V's brother. He currently resides in Dili, East Timor.
64. In April of 1998, John Doe III graduated with a degree in political
science from Timor University where he had been a student since 1992.
65. John Doe III also began to work for the independence of East Timor
in 1992. He took part in campaigns of the CNRT, traveling from town to
town in East Timor distributing campaign material and speaking publicly
for independence.
66. John Doe III is currently employed as a human rights advocate by
[...], a human rights organization in East Timor. In that position, he has
responsibility for investigating human rights violations that took place
in East Timor.
67. From 1995 to 1999, the Indonesian military frequently threatened to
kill John Doe III for his advocacy of East Timorese independence and human
rights. During this time, John Doe III was often watched at his home by
the Indonesian military. The threats and surveillance lead him to fear for
his safety and for the safety of his family.
68. On July 14, 1999, the Indonesian police apprehended John Doe III in
Dili, East Timor for advocating for East Timorese independence and for
demonstrating against the Indonesian military's assault on East Timorese
people and Catholic nuns in Maliana, East Timor.
69. The Indonesian police detained John Doe III for three days. While
detained, the Indonesian police interrogated John Doe III and frequently
threatened to kill him. At night, the Indonesian police increased the frequency of their threats, making
those threats almost every hour.
70. In March, 1999, one of John Doe III's brothers was captured by the
TNI, interrogated and severely beaten. The TNI interrogated John Doe III's
brother about his family's support of the East Timorese independence
movement and their refusal to join the militia groups forming to
discourage independence. After he was released and with the assistance of
his family, his brother sought medical attention for broken ribs and head
injuries and spent three weeks in the hospital recovering.
71. On August 12, 1999, just before the referendum on independence, the
military threatened John Doe III and his father while they were rallying
for independence in the market in Same, East Timor. Members of the
military told them that if East Timor declared independence from
Indonesia, they and their family would be killed for their role in the
movement.
72. In the market that day, John Doe III witnessed members of the TNI
shoot a young man in the legs, stab another and take three others into
custody during a pro-independence rally.
73. In August of 1999, John III's father, John Doe IV, was captured by
the Indonesian police, interrogated, and threatened with death. John Doe
IV recounted to John Doe III the threats by Indonesian police to kill John
Doe IV and his family if they were caught actively supporting independence
or if the East Timorese ultimately voted in favor of independence.
74. After the results of the referendum were announced in September,
1999, John Doe III witnessed uniformed TNI soldiers assaulting East
Timorese citizens and burning homes and other buildings.
75. On September 5, 1999, the Indonesian police detained John Doe III
and several other activists, and took them to an Indonesian police station
in Comoro, East Timor. After his release the next day, he fled to Denpasar, Indonesia, and the following
day to Jakarta, where he stayed until October 16, 1999.
76. Upon returning to East Timor, John Doe III's brother and sister
informed him that his parents' home had been burned by the Indonesian
military, forcing his parents to go into hiding. He was also told that his
brother, John Doe V, had disappeared.
77. In December, John Doe III was told by East Timorese citizens who
had fled to West Timor after the results were announced that his brother,
John Doe V, had been captured by the Indonesian military, tortured,
mutilated, executed and burned. He was told that the Indonesian military
first shot his brother in the legs and then stabbed him repeatedly. At
that point, John Doe V was still alive, so his torturers cut his throat
and hacked off his legs and hands and, ultimately, burned his remains.
78. On February 27, 2000, John Doe IV received a letter from a Militia
member, Verrisimo da Costa, a.k.a. Vasco Beti, a man who had witnessed the
torture and execution of John Doe V. John Doe III read the letter to his
father.
79. The letter confirmed that John Doe V had been tortured and executed
by the Indonesian military and described where his remains could be found.
80. With his father and nearly 200 other people from their village,
John Doe III traveled to that location, found a charred area of ground,
and after digging there, found the remains of his brother.
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VI. JOHN DOE IV
81. John Doe IV was born in Bekala, East Timor. He has lived in Bekala
all his life. He does not know the date of his birth, but is approximately
60 years old. He is married and has ten grown children.
82. John Doe IV is the father of John Doe III and John Doe V.
83. From 1961 until 1972, John Doe IV was employed by the Portuguese
army. In 1972 he became a civil servant with the Indonesian government,
working as a janitor and deliveryman in the Office of Military Command,
Hatoudo subdistrict until late 1999, when the Indonesian occupation of
East Timor ended. He is currently self-employed as a farmer.
84. John Doe IV was living in Bekala, and voted there in September,
1999 for the independence of East Timor.
85. After the results of the referendum were announced, John Doe IV
observed the TNI burning nearly every home in Bekala, over many days.
86. John Doe IV feared for the safety of his wife, and sent her into
hiding. She left the home approximately five days after the results of the
election were made known.
87. Approximately six days after the announcement, the TNI came to John
Doe IV's home in the night, armed with weapons. John Doe IV recognized
among them members of the TNI. He and four of his children, including John
Doe V, fled the TNI's gunfire. That night the TNI burned their home.
88. As he and his children fled to escape the TNI, he became separated
from his son, John Doe V.
89. John Doe V disappeared shortly after, and John Doe IV searched for
his son every day. The search ended when he received the aforementioned
letter from Verissimo da Costa. Because John Doe IV cannot read, John Doe
III read the letter to him.
90. John Doe IV traveled to the location disclosed in the letter, one
and a half hours from his home. He found his son's wallet, with a picture
of his son, John Doe V. John Doe IV also found John Doe V's burned
remains.
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VII. JOHN DOE V
91. John Doe V, born in East Timor, was the brother of John Doe III and
the son of John Doe IV. He was not married and had no children.
92. He attended elementary school in East Timor from 1979 to 1985 and
junior high school from 1985 to 1988. He graduated from high school in
1991. Until March, 1999, John Doe V studied at the College of Social
Welfare in Bandung, Indonesia.
93. From 1992, he was a political activist, working for the
independence of East Timor.
94. He was staying in his family's home in Bekala in September, 1999
with his mother and father and several of his siblings.
95. With his family, John Doe V witnessed the destruction of all of the
homes in Bekala by the TNI in the days following the announcement of the
Popular Consultation.
96. Shortly after his mother went into hiding, armed members of the TNI
came to the family home at night. John Doe V fled the destruction of their
home with his family.
97. That night, September 6, 1999, he became separated from his family
while fleeing the TNI's gunfire. He was captured by the TNI and taken to a
wooded area outside Bekala, about an hour and a half from his family home.
98. There, on or about September 7, 1999, he was tortured and summarily
executed. He was shot twice, but those wounds were not immediately fatal.
After he was shot, he was stabbed several times. His executioners cut off
his hand and ear while he was still alive. At some point during that
night, John Doe V throat was cut. His executioners burned his body and
left it in the woods.
It is uncontradicted that the experiences of plaintiffs described
herein -- including murder, summary execution and torture -- were
undertaken and directed by the Indonesian government and military, in
which defendant was Army Deputy Chief of Staff, in response to the East
Timorese struggle for independence from Indonesia.
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CONCLUSIONS OF LAW WITH RESPECT TO JURISDICTION AND LIABILITY
I. SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION
This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this case under the
Alien Tort Claims Act ("ATCA"), 28 U.S.C. § 1350, the Torture
Victim Protection Act, Pub. L. No. 102-256, 106 Stat. 78 (1992) (codified
as 28 U.S.C. § 1350 note) ("TVPA"), and supplemental
jurisdiction.
A. ALIEN TORT CLAIMS ACT
The ATCA provides that "the district courts shall have original
jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in
violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States." 28
U.S.C. §1350. The statute has been interpreted to provide alien
plaintiffs both a forum and a right to compensatory and punitive damages
under United States law. See, e.g., Xuncax v. Gramajo, 886
F. Supp. 162 (D. Mass 1995). In order for there to be subject matter
jurisdiction under the ATCA, three conditions must be met: (1) the
Plaintiff must be an alien; (2) the cause of action must be in tort; and
(3) the tort must be committed in violation of the law of nations or a
treaty of the United States. See Doe v. Islamic Salvation Front
(FIS), 993 F. Supp. 3, 7 (D.D.C. 1998)(internal citations omitted).
The three ATCA Criteria for jurisdiction have been met here. First,
Plaintiffs are aliens - they are all citizens of East Timor. Second, their
causes of action are based on torts committed under Defendant's direction,
authority and auspices, although not directly by Defendant himself. See,
e.g., Hilao v. Estate of Marcos, 103 F.3d 767 (9th
Cir. 1996)(former president of Philippines
could be held liable for abuses committed by military under his command upon proof that defendant knew
of such conduct and failed to use his power to prevent it); see also Xuncax,
886 F.Supp. 162 (former Vice Chief of Staff and Director of Army General
Staff in Guatemala could be held liable for acts of members of the
military forces under his command when official was aware of brutality,
and devised and directed implementation of indiscriminate campaign of
terror against civilians including plaintiffs and their relatives).
Finally, the actions at issue are in violation of the law of nations. In Filartiga
v. Peña-Irala,
630 F.2d 876 (2nd Cir. 1980), the first case in the modem line
interpreting the ATCA, the Second Circuit held that 28 U.S.C. § 1350
grants jurisdiction to federal courts to consider the claims of aliens for
torts committed in violation of fundamental norms of international law.
This Court has found that international law "is formed by ‘the
general assent of civilized nations’", and that courts "must
interpret international law under the ATCA as 'it has evolved and exists
among the nations of the world today,’" FIS at 3 (citing Doe
v. Karadzic, 70 F.3d 232, 238 (2nd Cir. 1995)). Among the
acts that courts have held violate international law and are actionable
under the ATCA are torts alleged in this case -- torture, summary
execution, crimes against humanity and cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment. See FIS, 993 F. Supp. at 4, 8; Xuncax, 886 F.Supp.
162.2 For the foregoing reasons, the Court has jurisdiction
over plaintiffs’ claims of torture, summary execution, crimes against
humanity and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment under the ATCA.
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B. TORTURE VICTIM PROTECTION ACT
The TVPA "provides for a federal cause of action for torture and
execution committed anywhere in the world." FIS, 993 F. Supp.
at 9. In order to bring a claim under the TVPA, the claimant must first
exhaust "adequate and available remedies in the place in which the
conduct giving rise to the claim occurred." 28 U.S.C. § 1350, note
2. In this case, plaintiffs argue that they can not seek redress in East
Timor "due to the legacy of the illegal military occupation of
Indonesia. The Indonesian judiciary does not resolve cases of abuse filed
by civilians against military officials, and any suit against the
defendant in East Timor or Indonesia would be futile and result in serious
reprisals against those raising the allegations." Complaint at ¶
32 [5]. In such situations, where exhaustion of remedies in the nation in
which the conduct occurred would be futile or patently inadequate, courts
have held that exhaustion under the TVPA is not required. See, e.g., Cabiri
v. Assasie-Gyimah, 921 F.Supp. 1189 (S.D.N.Y. 1996). Therefore, the
Court finds that exhaustion in this case is not required.
Under § 2(a) of the TVPA:
An individual who, under actual or apparent authority, or under
color of law, of any foreign nation (1) subjects an individual to
torture shall, in a civil action, be liable to that person for damages
to that individual; or (2) subjects an individual to extra judicial
killing shall, in a civil action, be liable for damages to that
individual's legal representative, or to any person who may be a
claimant in an action for wrongful death.
Id.. Extrajudicial killing or summary execution is defined by § 3
of the TVPA as "a deliberate killing not authorized by a previous
judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the
judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by all
peoples." The execution of John Doe V by Defendant, acting through
the TNI and affiliated Militia, was an "extrajudicial killing"
as defined by the TVPA. Therefore, the TVPA provides this Court with
jurisdiction to adjudicate Plaintiffs' claims of extrajudicial
killing/summary execution.
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C. FEDERAL QUESTION JURISDICTION
Plaintiffs also seek jurisdiction pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 1331, which
provides for federal subject matter jurisdiction in cases "arising
under" the Constitution and the laws of the United States. Plaintiffs
claim that the complaint in this case charges a violation of fundamental
norms of customary international law, which "arise under" U.S.
law, and therefore that jurisdiction exists under § 1331.
It is not entirely clear whether § 1331 provides a basis for
jurisdiction under international law. Some district courts have upheld
section 1331 jurisdiction for international law violations in the human
rights arena. See, e.g., Bodnar v. Banque Paribas et al.,
114 F.Supp. 117, 127 (E.D.N.Y. 2000); Forti v. Suarez-Mason, 672
F.Supp. 1531, 1544 (N.D.Cal. 1987). However, this Circuit has expressed a
much more cautious view. In Tel-Oren v. Libyan Arab Republic Judge
Edwards stated that section 1331 did not supply jurisdiction for claimed
violations of international law unless the plaintiffs could point to a
remedy granted by the law of nations or argue successfully that such a
remedy is implied. See 726 F.2d 774, 779-80 n. 4 (D.C. Cir. 1984). Judge
Edwards went on to point out that the law of nations generally does not
create private causes of action to remedy its violations, but leaves to
each nation the task of defining the remedies that are available for
international law violations. Id. at 778 (Edwards, J., concurring).
In this case, the Court need not reach the question whether
jurisdiction may be grounded on § 1331. Plaintiffs in this case have
asserted jurisdiction for all of their international law claims via the
ATCA and the TVPA, and, as discussed above, the Court has found that it
has jurisdiction over each and every one of plaintiffs' international law
claims via these two statutes. Since those acts appear to provide a remedy
for the plaintiffs' allegations related to torture, summary execution/extrajudical
killing, crimes against humanity and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, their causes of action are statutorily authorized.
Therefore, the Court need not determine whether any causes of action not
specifically authorized by statute may be implied by international law
standards as incorporated into United States law and grounded on section
1331 jurisdiction. See Kadic v. Karadzic, 70 F.3d 232, 245
(2d Cir. 1995).
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D. SUPPLEMENTAL JURISDICTION
Finally, plaintiffs claim that the Court has jurisdiction over their
municipal claims: assault, battery, and intentional infliction of
emotional distress, pursuant to the principles of supplemental
jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 1367. The statute provides, in
pertinent part: "in any civil action of which the district courts
have original jurisdiction, the district courts shall have supplemental
jurisdiction over all other claims that are so related to claims within
such original jurisdiction that they form part of the same case or
controversy." 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a). As discussed above, the Court has
original jurisdiction over plaintiffs' claims of cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment, crimes against humanity, torture and summary
execution under the ATCA and TPVA. The same evidence supports plaintiffs'
municipal law claims of assault, battery, and intentional infliction of
emotional distress. Therefore, the Court finds that plaintiffs' claims
against Defendant for torts committed in violation of the law of nations
are so related to their municipal tort claims that they form "part of
the same case or controversy under Article M of the United States
Constitution," Id.. Thus, the Court will exercise supplemental
jurisdiction over Plaintiffs' municipal tort claims. See Paul v.
Avril, 812 F.Supp. 207 (S.D. Fla. 1993); see also 14A
CHARLES ALAN WRIGHT, ARTHUR R. MILLER & EDWARD H. COOPER, FEDERAL
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE § 3661.1 (3rd ed. 1998).
"In a federal question action where the federal court is
exercising supplemental jurisdiction over state claims, the federal court
applies the choice-of-law rules of the forum state." Paracor Finance, Inc. v. General Elec. Capital Corp.,
96 F.3d II 51, 1164 (9th Cir. 1996). Thus, the Court must apply District
of Columbia choice of law rules to determine which substantive tort law
should be applied to plaintiffs' municipal tort claims.
In resolving choice of law questions, the District of Columbia
employs a governmental interests approach, which balances the
competing interests of the two jurisdictions. See Estrada v.
Potomac Elec. Power Co., 488 A.2d 1359, 1361 n. 2 (D.C. 1985); Myers
v. Gaither, 232 A.2d 577, 5 93 (D.C. 1967). See also Godbey
v. Frank E. Basil, Inc., 603 F.Supp. 775, 777 n. 8 (D.D.C.1985).
In determining which jurisdiction has the greater interest in having
their own laws apply, this Court considers "the place of the
injury, the place where the conduct occurred, the domicile of the
parties, [and] the place where the relationship between the parties is
centered." Myers, 232 A.2d at 583. See also Estrada,
488 A.2d at 1361 n. 2 (citing Restatement (Second) of Conflicts §
145).
Nix v. Hoke, 139 F.Supp.2d 125, 131 (D.D.C. 2001). Under this
approach, it is clear that the law of East Timor should apply to the
plaintiffs' municipal tort claims of assault, battery, and intentional
infliction of emotional distress. The conduct and injuries occurred in
East Timor, plaintiffs are and have been, at all times relevant to this
litigation, East Timorese citizens and domiciliaries, and the relationship
between plaintiffs and Lumintang is centered in East Timor.
"To determine the content and meaning of the laws of a foreign
country, a federal court may look to 'any relevant material or source,
including testimony, whether or not submitted by a party or admissible
under the Federal Rules of Evidence."' Xuncax, 886 F.Supp. at
196 (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 44.1). In this case, plaintiffs have provided the
court with a declaration by Professor Roger Stenson Clark as well as an
affidavit containing the testimony of Professors Joao Pedroso, Bonventura
de Sousa Santos and Jose Manuel Pureza regarding the provisions and
principles of the law governing East Timor which are relevant to this
case. See Plaintiff's Supplemental Memorandum of Law at Attachment
One, [Declaration of Roger Stenson Clark, hereinafter "Clark
Dec."] and Exhibits A, [United Nations Regulation on the Authority of
the Transitional Administration in East Timor, hereinafter "U.N. Regs."]
and B [Affidavit of Joao Pedroso, Bonventura de Sousa Santos, and Jose
Manuel Pureza, hereinafter "Pedroso et al. Aff."] thereto. The
court relies on this information in its analysis of the law governing
assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress in East
Timor.
The law that currently applies in East Timor is Portuguese law. East
Timor was a colony of Portugal in 1975, when it was invaded by Indonesia.
Because the Indonesian invasion was a violation of international law, the
United Nations has never recognized its military occupation, instead
classifying East Timor as a non-self-governing territory of Portugal. See
Clark Dec. at ¶4;
see also Pedroso et al. Aff. at 5-6. On August 30, 1999, the people of
East Timor voted for independence; on October 25, 1999, the United Nations
Transitional Administration in East Timor ("UNTAET") was
established to act as the temporary governmental authority. "Section
3.1, Regulation No. 1999/1 of the UNTAET states that until replaced by
UNTAET regulations or subsequent legislation or democratically established
institutions of East Timor, the law applied in East Timor prior to 25
October 1999 shall apply in East Timor insofar as they do not conflict
with certain international legal norms." Id. at ¶5(a);
see also Attachment A, UNTAET Regulation No. 1999/1, Section 3. 1. To
date, UNTAET has not passed any regulations addressing the torts of
assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. See Clark
Dec. at ¶5(a).
Therefore, the law of Portugal with respect to these torts continues to
apply in East Timor. See Id. at ¶5(c).
Portuguese law provides a cause of action for assault, battery, and
intentional infliction of emotional distress. See Pedroso et al.
Aff. at 7. The Portuguese Constitution provides, inter alia, that
"the moral and physical integrity of persons is inviolable." Id.
at 8. Article 483 of the Portuguese Civil Code provides, in pertinent
part: "The person who, through fraud or mere fault, illicitly violates the rights of another or any legal provision for the
protection of the interests of others, is compelled to compensate the
injured party for the damages resulting from the violation." Ibid. A
cause of action therefore arises when the following elements have been
met: " a) violation of another's right or interest; b) unlawfulness
of the fact; c) imputation of the fact to the agent; d) causing damage; e)
nexus of causality between fact and damage." Ibid. Portuguese
law does not provide immunity to public employees and members of the armed
forces for torts committed during the course of their employment. See Id.
at 8-10 (citing the Portuguese Constitution at Arts. 22; 266.2;
271).3
Assuming the facts presented by plaintiffs to be true, the Court finds
that defendant unlawfully violated plaintiffs' rights by subjecting them
to assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress,
that defendant's actions caused plaintiffs to suffer intense harm, and
accordingly that they are entitled to collect compensatory damages
pursuant to Article 483 of the Portuguese Civil Code.
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II. DEFENDANT'S LIABILITY FOR COMPENSATORY AND PUNITIVE DAMAGES
It has been established by the default judgment and by testimony at
trial that Lumintang had responsibility for the actions against plaintiffs
and a larger pattern of gross human rights violations. Defendant's May 5,
1999 telegram was part of a plan that ultimately led to a campaign of
killing, torture and terror and the forced exodus of one-third of the East
Timorese population. He was the signatory of a training manual that
provided instruction on tactics including terror, kidnapping and
intimidation for use by Indonesian soldiers in East Timor. For the following reasons, the Court finds that Lumintang is liable for the
actions committed by his subordinates.
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A. PRINCIPLES OF COMMAND RESPONSIBILITY
The doctrine of command responsibility - holding a commander criminally
or civilly responsible for crimes committed by subordinates - is well
established under both international and U.S. domestic law. Under the command responsibility doctrine, a
commander may be criminally or civilly liable as a principal even though
the commander did not directly participate in the commission of the actual
offenses. The theory underlying the doctrine of command responsibility is
that the commander is in the best position to prevent violations of
humanitarian law; because commanders are in positions of great public
trust and responsibility and are empowered to prevent or punish abuses, a
heightened legal duty is imposed upon them. As emphasized by the court in Kadic
v. Karadzic, 70 F.3d 232, 242 (2nd Cir. 1995),
"international law imposes an affirmative duty on military commanders
to take appropriate measures within their power to control troops under
their command for the prevention of atrocities." The elements of the
doctrine of command responsibility are three-fold. First, a relationship
of subordination must exist between the commander and the perpetrator.
(This relationship need not be a direct one; the commander defendant need
not be an immediate superior of the perpetrator.) Second, it is necessary
to demonstrate that the commander knew, or should have known, that troops
under his command were committing, were about to commit, or had committed
international law violations (mens rea). Third, the commander must
have failed to prevent or punish abuses (actus reus).
Several cases arising under the ATCA and TVPA have applied the
principles of command responsibility in U.S. courts. In Hilao v. Estate
of Marcos, 103 F.3d 767 (9th Cir. 1996), the court affirmed an ATCA and TVPA class action judgment
against the former ruler of the Philippines. Citing, inter alia, the
legislative history of the TVPA, the Ninth Circuit upheld the finding that
Marcos could be found liable if he "directed, ordered, conspired
with, or aided the military in torture, summary execution, and
disappearance" or, alternatively, "knew of such conduct by the
military and failed to use his power to prevent it." Hilao,
103 F.3d at 776-778. Similarly, in Xuncax v. Gramajo, the court
issued a default judgment based upon evidence of the defendant's direct
responsibility for having ordered, planned and initiated a pattern and
practice of human rights violations, and his indirect responsibility for
knowledge and support of the abuses of his subordinates in finding him
liable under the ATCA and TVPA. Xuncax, 886 F. Supp. at 172. In Paul
v. Avril, 901 F. Supp. 330 (S.D. Fla. 1994), the court entered a
default judgment against a former military ruler of Haiti for torture
committed by soldiers under the defendant's command. The court emphasized:
All of the soldiers and officers in the Haitian military
responsible for the arbitrary detention and torture of plaintiffs were
employees, representatives, or agents of defendant Avril, acting under
his instructions, authority, and control and acting within the scope
of the authority granted by him.
Paul, 901 F. Supp. at 255. In Forti v. Suarez-Mason, 672 F.
Supp. 1531 (N.D. Cal. 1987), the Northern District of California held that
an Argentine general could be held liable under the ATCA for command
responsibility over "torture by military and police personnel under
the supervision and control of defendant while he served as Commander of
the First Army Corps." In that case, Plaintiffs alleged that their
torturers:
were all agents, employees, or representatives of defendant acting
pursuant to a 'policy, pattern and practice' of the First Army Corps
under defendant's command. Plaintiffs assert that the defendant 'held
the highest position of authority' in Buenos Aires Province; that
defendant was responsible for maintaining the prisons and detention
centers there, as well as the conduct of Army officers and agents; and
that he 'authorized, approved, directed, and ratified' the acts
complained of.
Forti, 672 F. Supp. at 1537-8. As the Forti
case indicates, a policy, pattern or practice of human rights violations
committed by subordinates under a defendant's command is relevant to both
a defendant's knowledge of such acts and his failure to exercise an
affirmative duty to control his subordinates. By failing to intervene to
prevent or punish a policy, pattern or practice of abuses, a commander may
be found to have essentially ratified the abuses.
The legislative history of the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) is
unequivocal; Congress stated its intention to apply international
standards of command responsibility in determining liability in U.S.
courts. The Senate TVPA Report indicates:
The legislation [creating the TVPA] is limited to lawsuits against
persons who ordered, abetted, or assisted in the torture. It will not
permit a lawsuit against a former leader of a country merely because an
isolated act of torture occurred somewhere in that country. However, a
higher official need not have personally performed or ordered the abuses
in order to be held liable. Under international law, responsibility for
torture, summary execution, or disappearances extends beyond the person
or persons who actually committed those acts -- anyone with higher
authority who authorized, tolerated, or knowingly ignored those acts is
liable for them.
S. Rep. No. 249, 102d Cong., 1 st Sess. (1 99 1) at 9.
In the present case, Defendant Lumintang is both directly and
indirectly responsible for the human rights violations committed against
the Plaintiffs. Lumintang had "direct" responsibility for these
acts: as the third-ranking member of the Indonesian military, he - along
with other high-ranking members of the Indonesian military - planned,
ordered, and instigated acts carried out by subordinates to terrorize and
displace the East Timor population, to repress East Timorese who supported
independence from Indonesia, and to destroy East Timor's infrastructure
following the vote for independence. Lumintang's signature on the May 5,
1999 telegram was sent to subordinates in the Indonesian army that
furthered the events in East Timor in 1999. The June 30, 1999 manual that
was issued over his signature advocated training tactics for use by Indonesian soldiers that violate international law and were
the same tactics that were actually used by these soldiers both before and
after the Popular Consultation. These official acts support a finding that
Lumintang was directly involved in ordering, instigating or planning acts
which led to the plaintiffs' injuries in this case. The defendant also had
indirect command responsibility for the plaintiffs' injuries. In his
position as Vice Chief of Staff of the TNI, and as a member of the TNI
High Command, Lumintang (1) served as commander of subordinate members of
the TNI in East Timor who perpetrated the acts of violence which injured
the plaintiffs; (2) knew or should have known that subordinates in East
Timor were committing, were about to commit or had committed widespread
and systematic human rights violations, and (3) failed to act to prevent
or punish the violations. Based on the principles of command
responsibility, the Court finds that defendant may be held liable for the
actions of his subordinates, including the abuses suffered by plaintiffs
in this action.
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III. DAMAGES
After careful consideration of the pleadings, the unrebutted testimony
presented by plaintiffs at trial, and the entire record in this case, the
Court concludes that plaintiffs have established legitimate causes of
action, and they have further established that defendant is liable to them
for relief. As a final matter, the Court turns to the issue of what relief
plaintiffs may be awarded: damages.
A. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF COMPENSATORY AND PUNITIVE
DAMAGES
Defendant has violated international law through summary execution,
torture, crimes against humanity, and cruel, inhuman, or degrading
treatment of plaintiffs and their relatives. In addition, Lumintang has
violated Portuguese law through assault, battery and intentional
infliction of emotional distress. The measure of damages under
international law is restoration of the status quo ante. Plaintiffs should be awarded monetary
damages to compensate them for all the pecuniary and non-pecuniary
injuries, both direct and indirect, sustained as a result of Lumintang's
violations of their internationally secured human rights. Plaintiffs are
also entitled to compensatory damages for their tort claims under
Portuguese law. Finally, plaintiffs are entitled to an award of punitive
damages in order to punish and deter such egregious violations of
international law. It is now well established that victims of human rights
violations and their relatives may obtain compensatory and punitive
damages under the ATCA and TVPA. See, e.g., Hilao, 103 F.3d
789; Xuncax, 886 F. Supp. 162; Paul, 901 F. Supp. 330; Abebe-Jiri
v. Negewo, 72 F.3d 844 (11th Cir. 1996); Filartiga, 577 F.
Supp. 860.
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B. COMPENSATORY DAMAGES
The basic international rule of damages entitles a victim to
compensation for the injuries proximately caused by the defendant's
wrongful acts. "It is a principle of international law... that every
violation of an international obligation which results in harm creates a
duty to make adequate reparation." Velasquez Rodriguez Case,
Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Judgment of July 21, 1989, & 25,
11 H.R.L.J. 127 (1989) (awarding the family of a disappeared person
damages for loss of earnings and psychological injuries). The
Inter-American Court relied on the leading case on the international law
of damages, Case Concerning the Chorzow Factory (Germany v. Poland),
1928 P.C.I.J. (Ser. A), No. 17, at 47, in which the Permanent Court of
International Justice held that compensatory damages include not only
immediate and actual losses, but consequential damages as well: "[R]eparation
must, so far as possible, wipe out all the consequences of the illegal act
and reestablish the situation which would, in all probability, have
existed if that act had not been committed." Id. When injuries
to individuals are at issue, as in this case, international law allows damages to be
awarded for a broad range of physical, emotional, and social harms:
That one injured is, under the rules of international law, entitled
to be compensated for an injury inflicted resulting in mental
suffering, injury to his feelings, humiliation, shame, degradation,
loss of social position or injury to his credit or to his reputation,
there can be no doubt, and such compensation should be commensurate to
the injury.
M. Whiteman, DAMAGES IN INTERNATIONAL LAW, 718-719 (1943). In addition,
under Portuguese law, compensatory damages including lost earnings and
pain and suffering may be awarded for plaintiffs' municipal tort claims.4
Plaintiffs have presented no evidence as to loss of income, property,
benefits or services. However, they have presented extensive and detailed
evidence on the issues of pain and suffering, both through their own
testimony and through that of Estella Abosch, a social worker who
conducted evaluations of the plaintiffs and testified as an expert in the
field of psychotherapy and trauma, including torture. See, e.g., March
29, 2001 Trial Transcript at 33.
Ms. Abosch testified that Jane Doe suffers from post traumatic stress
syndrome and major depression due to the destruction of her home and
property and the loss of her youngest child. She experiences intense guilt
over the death of her son because she had argued with him on the last day
she saw him alive, and subsequently "blames herself for not having
done enough to save him." Id. at 40. She cannot fall asleep or
stay asleep, and experiences recurring nightmares.
John Doe II suffers from constant physical discomfort due to the loss
of part of his leg. Ms. Abosch testified that during her meetings with
John Doe H, "he was [] uncomfortable, many times changing his position because he can not hold a position for a
long time due to the pain in his amputated leg." Id. at 45. He
has no access to medical facilities that could fit him with a prosthetic
limb. John Doe II does not have much formal education; accordingly,
"he depended on his body to work" and the loss of his leg has,
of course, been devastating in that regard. Id. at 50. He has no
source of income, and relies on his cousin, with whom he lives, for
economic survival. See Id. at 54. He suffers from profound
depression; in addition, since the loss of his leg he has developed an
alcohol addiction. He has lost a lot of weight, sleeps poorly, has
difficulty performing many of the activities of daily life, and has no
hope for the future. When asked to describe himself, John Doe II says he
is "a bird without a wing." Id. at 54.
Like the other plaintiffs in this action, John Doe III suffers from
post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. He is also burdened by
survivor's guilt because he feels that without his encouragement, his
deceased brother, John Doe V, might not have become involved in human
rights work. In addition, he and John Doe V looked very much alike, so
John Doe III feels that he, not his brother, may have been marked for
execution, and John Doe V could have been killed in a case of mistaken
identity. See Id. at 59. John Doe III has difficulty sleeping, and
often wakes up at night crying and in terror. Id.
John Doe IV testified through a videotaped deposition from East Timor. See
Trial Exhibit 46, Transcript of Videotape Deposition Excerpts taken by
Anthony DeCaprio of John Doe IV on February 27, 2001 in East Timor
(through translator). Since the death of his son, John Doe V, John Doe IV
suffers from repeated nightmares that people are going to kill him. He is
so frightened that he, like his son, may be tortured and killed that he
will not venture far from his home. See Id. at 14. He often
dreams that John Doe V is talking to him; when he wakes up, he cries. See
Id. at 16-17.
Finally, plaintiffs presented evidence that John Does I and V had
suffered grievously before their deaths. According to the deposition of
[...], a fellow independence fighter in East Timor and a friend of John
Doe I, John Doe I was shot by the TNI on September 4, 1999. See Trial
Exhibit 44, Transcript of Videotape Deposition Excerpts taken by Anthony
DeCaprio of [...] on February 26, 2001 in East Timor (through translator)
at 6. He did not receive medical treatment, however, until about two weeks
after the shooting, because the presence of the TNI and militia made it
impossible to reach the hospital. See Id. at 12. John Doe
lived with excruciating pain from an untreated gunshot wound to the leg
for two weeks; he then died from it. Likewise, John Doe V suffered
unimaginably before his death. John Doe III testified that witnesses to
his brother's death told him that members of the TNI shot John Doe V
repeatedly in the legs. He was then stabbed repeatedly, but, according to
the information John Doe III received, did not die. He was finally killed
when one of the soldiers slit his throat. See March 27, 2001 Trial
Transcript at 181.
The Court finds this evidence more than sufficient to justify awards of
compensatory damages to Jane Doe and John Does II, III and IV and to the
estates of John Does I and V.
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C. PUNITIVE DAMAGES
Summary execution, torture, crimes against humanity, genocide, and
cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment are universally condemned as
violations of fundamental human rights. Domestic courts may reflect the
strength of these international prohibitions in their judgments and damage
awards. See, e.g., Declaration on the Protection of all Persons
from Being Subjected to Torture, General Assembly Res. 3452, 30 U.N.
G.A.O.R. Supp. (No. 34), 91 U.N.Doc. A/1034 (1975), Arts. 7, 22 Federal
common law has followed Filartiga's reasoning that punitive damages
are an appropriate mechanism available to uphold international norms
against human rights abuses: "[T]he objective of the international law making
torture punishable as a crime can only be vindicated by imposing punitive
damages." Filartiga, 577 F. Supp. at 863-864 (awarding $10
million in punitive damages). The amount of punitive damages should
correspond to both the seriousness of the wrong and the injury to the
plaintiff:
In ascertaining [damages] the jury may consider all the facts which
relate to the wrongful act of the defendant, and its consequences to
the plaintiff: but they are not at liberty to go farther, unless it
was done willfully, or was the result of reckless indifference to the
rights of others... In that case, the jury are authorized, for the
sake of public example, to give such additional damages as the
circumstances require. The tort is aggravated by the evil motive, and
on this rests the rule of exemplary damages.
Smith v. Wade, 461 U.S. 30,42 (1983) (quoting Milwaukee
& St. Paul R. Co. v. Arms, 91 U.S. 489, 493 (1875)).
Defendant unquestionably had an "evil motive" in authorizing
and implementing the crimes against humanity and terror that encompassed
the torture, summary execution, and injuries suffered by plaintiffs and
their families. The nature and scope of Defendant's acts, his evil motive,
and the need for deterring such acts are the elements for determining the
measure of punitive damages to be awarded to these Plaintiffs.
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1. Evidence of similar
acts, or a pattern of similar
activity not directed specifically against plaintiffs is
relevant in assessing punitive damages
To justify an award of punitive damages, plaintiffs must provide
evidence of the intentional and atrocious abuse inflicted upon them or
upon those plaintiffs in whose capacity they have sued. In addition,
previous ATCA cases as well as cases on punitive damages in general
clearly establish that, in order to assess the overall impact of a
defendant's egregious misconduct, evidence that establishes a pattern and
practice of abuses committed by defendant is relevant in assessing
punitive damages. This evidence includes testimony by experts familiar with the defendant's participation in similar activities as well as his
role in a broader pattern of human rights abuses.
The Supreme Court has made clear that evidence of repeated conduct is
relevant to the determination of the proper amount of punitive damages to
be assessed against a defendant. Recently, the Court held:
Certainly, evidence that a defendant has repeatedly engaged in
prohibited conduct while knowing or suspecting that it was unlawful
would provide relevant support for an argument that strong medicine is
required to cure the defendant's disrespect for the law... Our
holdings that a recidivist may be punished more severely than a first
offender recognize that repeated misconduct is more reprehensible than
an individual instance of malfeasance (citation omitted).
BMW of North America Inc. v. Gore, 116 S.Ct. 1589 (1996). Evidence
of similar acts, or a pattern of similar activity not directed
specifically against plaintiffs is also admissible to show that the
defendant had knowledge that these acts were about to occur, were
occurring, or had occurred. See Monger v. Cessna Aircraft, 812 F.
2d 402, 406 (8th Cir 1987). In order for the acts to be admissible they
must be (as here) substantially similar circumstances. See New York
Life Ins Co. v. Seigthman, 140 F.2d 930, 932-933 (6th Cir
1944). Thus evidence of similar incidents are relevant and admissible
evidence. Johnson v. Colt Industries, 609 F. Supp. 776 (D. Kan.
1985), aff’d, 797 F.2d 1530 (10th Cir 1986).
Numerous cases brought under the Alien Tort Claims Act and Torture
Victim Protection Act have considered evidence other than that which is
directly related to the acts committed against plaintiffs in assessing
punitive damages. For example, in Xuncax, the court imposed an
award which included punitive damages against the former Minister of
Defense of Guatemala. The court included evidence of a "campaign of
terror" which resulted in "thousands of civilian deaths":
In this case, plaintiffs have convincingly demonstrated that, at a
minimum, Gramajo was aware of and supported widespread acts of
brutality committed by personnel under his command resulting in
thousands of civilian deaths.... In the face of public outcry, the
massacres continued and indeed got worse.... Indeed, the evidence
suggests that Gramajo devised and directed the implementation of an
indiscriminate campaign of terror against civilians such as
plaintiffs and their relatives.
886 F. Supp. at 172-173 (emphasis added; citations to expert affidavits
omitted). Other courts have allowed evidence of a defendant's pattern of
abuses in assessing the proper level of punitive damages, including Mushikiwabo
v. Baraywagwiza, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4409 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 9, 1996i
("the Court will not detail here all of the acts of torture and
murder that were carried out according to the plan of the defendant and
his coconspirators, which have been extensively documented in the
affidavits submitted in support of this motion... One cannot place a
dollar value of the lives lost as the result of defendant's actions and
the suffering inflicts on the innocent victims of his cruel campaign.
Ultimately, however, a monetary judgment is all the Court can award these
plaintiffs."); Doe v. Karadzic 93 Civ. 878 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 4,
2000) (judgment of $4.5 billion awarded to 39 plaintiffs - testimony
included expert testimony by Cherif Bassiouni and Diane Paul about the
pattern of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity inflicted by
defendant); Filartiga v. Pena-Irala, 577 F. Supp. 860 (E.D.N.Y.
1984); Todd v. Panjaitan, No. 92-12255, 1994 WL 8271 11 (D. Mass.
Oct. 26, 1994) (expert testimony by Allan Nairn on Panjaitan's history in
the Indonesian military); Prosper v. Avril, 812 F. Supp. 207 (S.D.
Fla. 1993); Forti v. Suarez-Mason, No. 87-2058-DLJ (N.D.Cal. Apr.
25, 1990); Quiros de Rapaport v. Suarez-Mason, No. C87-2266 (N.D.
Cal. Apr. 11, 1989); Martinez-Baca v. Suarez-Mason, No.
87-2057 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 22, 1988).
Admitting evidence of a pattern of abuses to assess the proper amount
of a punitive damage award follows the well-established principle of
punishing those who have committed abuses which have relegated their status to that of "enemies of
all mankind." Filartiga, 630 F.2d 876, 890 (2d Cir. 1980). In
this seminal case, the court explained the key role of punitive damages in
international human rights cases: "the objective of the international
law making torture punishable as a crime can only be vindicated by
imposing punitive damages.... It is essential and proper to grant the
remedy of punitive damages in order to give effect to the manifest
objectives of the international prohibition against torture." 577 F.
Supp. at 864-865. See also RESTATEMENT (SECOND) ON TORTS §.908
("Punitive damages are damages, other than compensatory or nominal
damages, awarded against a person to punish him for his outrageous conduct
and to deter him and others like him from similar conduct in the
future.") By definition, punitive damages are not intended to
compensate the plaintiff but to punish the defendant for his wrongful
acts. See City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, Inc., 453 U.S.
247, 266 (1981). In order to assess the harm by a defendant in need of
punishment, the extent of his acts must be addressed.
The record clearly establishes that Lumintang has participated in a
pattern of egregious conduct. See supra pages 4-10 (citing
extensively to Trial Transcript). By January 1999, he was Army Deputy
Chief of Staff, and his duties were to ensure coordination between Army
headquarters staff, field staff, and the headquarters staff of other parts
of the armed forces and police; and to coordinate and supervise the
execution of army decisions, plans, and programs, as well as personnel,
material, and financial arrangements. The Army, in which Lumintang was a
senior officer, supported the militia in East Timor, aiding, abetting,
arming, encouraging and directing them, and participating directly in the
militia's chain of command. Lumintang coordinated the campaign to turn
East Timorese against each other through the militia by bringing in
Special Forces from Indonesia. As the second ranking officer in the Army,
Lumintang had responsibility for discipline of troops when 54 people were
shot and attacked with hatchets, bows and arrows as they fled the Liquica Church. The
June 30, 1999 manual that went out over Lumintang's signature included
"tactics and techniques" including abduction, killing, or
kidnapping and terror -- these same tactics were used in East Timor.
Plaintiffs have presented testimony of the widespread terror, atrocities
and destruction which resulted from Defendant's actions. See supra at
4-10 (citing extensively to record); see also March 28, 2001 Trial
Transcript at 58-69 and Exhibit 26 - Testimony of Theodore Folke and
videotape of extensive destruction in Dili, East Timor; March 29, 2001
Trial Transcript at 20-27 and Exhibits 35-43 - Testimony of Ian Thomas and
satellite images depicting devastation of the landscape of East Timor.
Punitive damages are clearly warranted, and the evidence other than the
actions committed directly against plaintiffs demonstrates the nature of
defendant's actions and the need for punitive damages commensurate with
these atrocities.
As noted above, punitive damages are imposed for two purposes - to
punish truly heinous conduct and to deter others from committing similar
acts. See 996 F.Supp. at 1250, 125 1. For the foregoing reasons,
the Court finds that the award of punitive damages in this case is
manifestly necessary to achieve both of these goals.
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CONCLUSION
The plaintiffs have established, through the evidence submitted at
trial, that defendant Johny Lumintang, in his capacity as Army Deputy
Chief of Staff of the TNI, caused plaintiffs to suffer, inter alia, torture,
wrongful death, summary execution, assault, battery and intentional
infliction of emotional distress. Accordingly, for the reasons more fully
set forth above, defendant is adjudged liable to plaintiffs for relief
pursuant to the ATCA, the TVPA, and Portuguese municipal LAW. Judgment is
hereby awarded on behalf of plaintiffs and against defendant in the
following amounts:
|
Jane Doe:
Compensatory Damages:
Punitive Damages:
|
$1,000,000
$10,000,000 |
|
John Doe I:
Compensatory Damages:
Punitive Damages:
|
$750,000
$10,000,000 |
John Doe II:
Compensatory Damages:
Punitive Damages:
|
$1,750,000
$10,000,000 |
John Doe III:
Compensatory Damages:
Punitive Damages:
|
$750,000
$10,000,000 |
John Doe IV:
Compensatory Damages:
Punitive Damages:
|
$1,000,000
$10,000,000 |
John Doe V:
Compensatory Damages:
Punitive Damages:
|
$750,000
$10,000,000 |
The Clerk of the Court shall enter judgment accordingly. An appropriate
Order accompanies these Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.
September 10, 2001
/s/
ALAN KAY
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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_______________________
(1) Defendant was served on March 30, 2000 at Dulles Airport, See
Return of Service [3]
(2) The policies underlying such 'universal jurisdiction' in cases like
this are clear. Simply stated, certain offenses, no matter where they
occur, "are so universally condemned that the perpetrators are the
enemies of all people." Demjanjuk v. Petrovsky, 776 F.2d 571,
582 (6th Cir. 1985), cert. den., 475 U.S. 1016 (1986). As the Court
in Filartiga noted, "for the purposes of civil liability, the
torturer has become -- like the pirate and the slave trader before him --
hostis humani generis, an enemy of all mankind." 630 F.2d at 890.
(3) Because Defendant in this case is not a Portuguese public employee
or affiliated with the Portuguese military, it seems likely that
Portuguese law would treat him as a foreign civilian rather than a member
of the military. The Portuguese Civil Code subjects foreign civilians to
the same rules of tort liability as any civilian. See Pedroso et
al. Aff. at 9.
(4) Under Portuguese law, it appears that actions for survival
damages may be had -- with the death of the victim, the right to
compensation for pain and suffering falls to the estate of the decedent or
to the decedent's heirs at law. See Pedroso Aff. at 10- 11. Thus,
under Portuguese law, damages for pain and suffering may be awarded to the
estates of John Does I and V, as well as to Jane Doe and John Does II, III
and IV.
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Lumintang case
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