Baltimore IMC : http://www.baltimoreimc.org
News :: Civil & Human Rights
Federal Court to Hear Arguments in Case Against Kissinger
Author
Date Created
- 09 Mar 2005
Date Edited
- 09 Mar 2005 12:47:14 PM
License
This work is in the public domain.
Washington, DC – On Friday, March 11, 2005, at 9:30 a.m., the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear arguments in the case of Schneider v. Kissinger. The case was brought by the sons of Chilean General René Schneider, who was killed in 1970 because he opposed the violent coup that brought Pinochet to power. The complaint, based on declassified government documents, alleges that National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger secretly conspired with right-wing military officials in Chile to kill General Schneider. Dr. Kissinger worked closely with the co-conspirators and sent them money and arms.
A year ago, a lower court dismissed the case, granting Dr. Kissinger immunity for his actions. D.C. law students will argue the appeal on behalf of the Schneider family.
A year ago, a lower court dismissed the case, granting Dr. Kissinger immunity for his actions. D.C. law students will argue the appeal on behalf of the Schneider family.
Background
In Chile in 1970, Salvador Allende was posed to become the world’s first democratically-elected Socialist head of state. Convinced that he could not “stand by and watch a country go Communist due to the irresponsibility of its people,” then-National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger ordered a covert campaign to oppose Allende’s presidency and foment a military-led coup. This campaign included a secret plan to “neutralize” the Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army, General René Schneider, because his opposition to the military’s involvement in Chilean politics stood in the way of a coup.
Dr. Kissinger’s plan succeeded on October 22, 1970, when a group of men armed with guns provided by Dr. Kissinger surrounded General Schneider’s car in Santiago and fatally shot him. General Schneider’s death indeed paved the way for the military coup that installed General Augusto Pinochet, during whose 20-year regime thousands of innocent civilians were tortured, disappeared, and murdered.
In September 2001, two of General Schneider’s sons filed suit in federal court against Dr. Kissinger for his complicity in the murder of their father. They bring suit under the Alien Tort Claims Act, a statute that allows aliens to sue in the United States for violations of international law, and the Torture Victims Protection Act, which allows victims of torture and extrajudicial killing to sue their perpetrators.
In March 2004, the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the suit, holding that Dr. Kissinger is entitled to official immunity for his acts, and that the issues presented by the suit are too political for the courts, falling instead within the domain of the Executive branch. The Schneider sons appeal this ruling, arguing that the National Security Advisor cannot order a murder with impunity, and that the political context in which such a heinous crime occurs cannot be used as a shield against liability.
Co-counsel for the Schneider sons, Michael E. Tigar and Ali Beydoun, work with a small group of students at The American University Washington College of Law, who have been dedicated to this case since they filed the complaint in 2001. The students will argue the case before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on March 11, 2005 at 9:30 am. The argument is open to the public and will take place on the fifth floor of the E. Barrett Prettyman Building, located at 333 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001.
In Chile in 1970, Salvador Allende was posed to become the world’s first democratically-elected Socialist head of state. Convinced that he could not “stand by and watch a country go Communist due to the irresponsibility of its people,” then-National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger ordered a covert campaign to oppose Allende’s presidency and foment a military-led coup. This campaign included a secret plan to “neutralize” the Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army, General René Schneider, because his opposition to the military’s involvement in Chilean politics stood in the way of a coup.
Dr. Kissinger’s plan succeeded on October 22, 1970, when a group of men armed with guns provided by Dr. Kissinger surrounded General Schneider’s car in Santiago and fatally shot him. General Schneider’s death indeed paved the way for the military coup that installed General Augusto Pinochet, during whose 20-year regime thousands of innocent civilians were tortured, disappeared, and murdered.
In September 2001, two of General Schneider’s sons filed suit in federal court against Dr. Kissinger for his complicity in the murder of their father. They bring suit under the Alien Tort Claims Act, a statute that allows aliens to sue in the United States for violations of international law, and the Torture Victims Protection Act, which allows victims of torture and extrajudicial killing to sue their perpetrators.
In March 2004, the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the suit, holding that Dr. Kissinger is entitled to official immunity for his acts, and that the issues presented by the suit are too political for the courts, falling instead within the domain of the Executive branch. The Schneider sons appeal this ruling, arguing that the National Security Advisor cannot order a murder with impunity, and that the political context in which such a heinous crime occurs cannot be used as a shield against liability.
Co-counsel for the Schneider sons, Michael E. Tigar and Ali Beydoun, work with a small group of students at The American University Washington College of Law, who have been dedicated to this case since they filed the complaint in 2001. The students will argue the case before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on March 11, 2005 at 9:30 am. The argument is open to the public and will take place on the fifth floor of the E. Barrett Prettyman Building, located at 333 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001.
Views
Information
Search
This site made manifest by dadaIMC software