Associated Press April 30, 2002, Tuesday
Judge awards $140 million to Bosnian Muslims in torture case
BY: MITCH STACY, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: ATLANTA
A federal judge awarded $140 million Monday to four Bosnian Muslims -
including two living in Utah - who claimed they were beaten and
tortured by a Bosnian-Serb soldier who moved to the United States
after the war.
The four men sued the former soldier, Nikola Vuckovic, in 1998 under
laws allowing torture victims to seek redress in American courts,
even
if the offenses occurred elsewhere.
U.S. District Judge Marvin H. Shoob awarded $35 million each to Kemal
Mehinovic, Muhamed Bicic, Safet Hadzialijagic and Hasan Subasic. In
an
October trial, they told of being detained and tortured at the hands
of Vuckovic and other Bosnian-Serb soldiers. Two of the victims
currently are U.S. residents, and live in Salt Lake City. The award
will be difficult to collect, since Vuckovic disappeared just before
the trial. But Mehinovic, 45, said legal accountability was more
important than the money.
"I brought this case because I felt an obligation towards those who
were killed or tortured by Vuckovic," he said. "I am satisfied with
the result. He will no longer be able to live peacefully in the
United
States."
Vuckovic sought asylum in the United States and was living in an
Atlanta surburb. He didn't show up for the trial and his family said
he had gone back to Bosnia to care for his sick mother.
But officials with The Center for Justice and Accountability, a San
Francisco-based human rights group that spearheaded the suit, said
Vuckovic is believed to be back in the Atlanta area.
The witnesses testified about frequent beatings, teeth pulled out
with pliers and heads smashed against walls while soldiers hurled
anti-Muslim abuse. All said they lost about half their body weight
during detention.
"(Vuckovic's) actions were consistent with the pattern and practice
of
abuses against Bosnian Muslims and demonstrate that he was well aware
of being part of a campaign of ethnic cleansing that was both
widespread and systematic," Shoob said in the order.
The action was the first of its kind handled by fledgling Center for
Justice and Accountability, an arm of Amnesty International.
Executive
Director Sandra Coliver said the large award "sends a message that
U.S. courts consider this behavior to be reprehensible, and that
the U.S. is not safe haven for people who commit these crimes."
The suit was filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act, enacted by the
first Congress in 1789. The law allows foreign residents to sue in
U.S. courts those who break "the law of nations or a treaty of the
United States."
Since 1979, more than 20 lawsuits citing the Alien Tort Claims Act
have been filed in the United States.
The potential scope broadened with the 1991 Torture Victim Protection
Act, which entitles U.S. citizens to bring the lawsuits as well, and
spells out that torture and summary execution are personal injuries
for which people can seek damages.
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