International & Cross Border
Historic Victory for Human Rights
McDermott assisted the CJA in its pursuit for justice in the Samantar v. Yousuf case. The CJA filed the case in 2004 seeking to hold Mohamed Ali Samantar, former minister of defense and prime minister of Somalia, currently living in Virginia, accountable for human rights violations perpetrated by subordinates acting under his direct authority against five torture survivors:
- Bashe Abdi Yousuf, a businessman tortured and kept in solitary confinement for more than six years
- Aziz Mohamed Deria, whose father and brother were abducted by officials and never seen again
- John Doe I, whose two brothers were executed by soldiers
- Jane Doe, a student raped 15 times by officials and kept in solitary confinement for more than three years
- John Doe II, who was imprisoned and survived a firing squad's shooting by hiding under dead bodies
In 2007 Samantar successfully moved to dismiss the case on immunity grounds under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. CJA appealed, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reinstated the case on January 8, 2009. Samantar appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, who agreed to review the case to determine whether Samantar, as a former government official, is immune from civil suit in the United States for human rights violations committed in Somalia. On June 1, 2010, by a 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court affirmed the Fourth Circuit's decision holding that immunity under the act does not extend to lawsuits aimed at current or former officials of foreign nations. The Court's unanimous ruling confirms that foreign government officials, who come and avail themselves of the benefits and privileges of living in the United States, are not above the law.