US Court issues summons against Indian PM Modi ahead of his arrival

US Court issues summons against Indian PM Modi ahead of his arrival 

AJC to hold press conference on Friday, Sept 26, 2014


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.  
September 25, 2014


New York City, New York: The US Federal Court for the Southern District of New York today issued summons against the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his role in the massacres committed in Gujarat during 2002, when he was Chief Minister of the Indian state. Mr. Modi is expected to arrive in the US on Friday, September 26, 2014. The lawsuit has been filed by the American Justice Center (AJC), a non-profit human rights organization established to bring to justice perpetrators of mass violence and genocide. AJC has filed the suit along with two survivors of the horrific and organized violence of Gujarat 2002. The suit has been filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA).

Seeking compensatory and punitive damages, the twenty-eight page complaint charges PM Modi with committing crimes against humanity, extra-judicial killings, torture and inflicting mental and physical trauma on the victims, mostly from the Muslim community.

An estimated 2,000 people were massacred and over 100,000 were driven from their homes. The pogroms were marked by unspeakable sexual violence against hundreds of women. AJC is providing legal support and advice to the survivors in their effort to hold Mr. Modi accountable for his complicity in the violence. The survivors are suing Mr. Modi for the loss of lives and trauma in their families, and caused emotional, financial and psychological devastation in their lives.

AJC has also announced a press conference to share details of the case, and the legal path ahead in the survivors' quest for justice. Details of the press conference are as follows:

WHAT: US Court Summons Indian Prime Minister Modi for his role in the Gujarat 2002

WHEN: Friday, September 26, 2014 at 11:30 AM

WHERE:
Regency Room
Grand Hyatt New York
109 E. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017, USA
(Park Avenue at Grand Central Terminal)

AJC President, Mr. Joseph Whittington Jr., who is the 2nd Ward Alderman of Harvey, Illinois will address the press conference.

"The Tort Case against Prime Minister Modi is an unequivocal message to human rights abusers everywhere," said Dr. John Bradley, a Director at the AJC, a veteran activist from the civil rights era. "Time and place and the trappings of power will not be an impediment to justice," added Dr. Bradley, a known associate of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Alien Tort Claims Act, also known as Alien Tort Statute (ATS), is a US federal law first adopted in 1789 that gives the federal courts jurisdiction to hear lawsuits filed by US residents for acts committed in violation of international law outside the US.

The Gujarat pogroms of 2002 was one of the worst episodes of sectarian violence in India, and was marked with horrific crimes against humanity, including the rape of hundreds of women. Many of the victims were subsequently burned alive. Several international human rights organizations and independent citizens' tribunals have established that the attacks and mass violence were planned and executed in an organized fashion, with the active connivance of the state administration and law enforcement, presided over by Mr. Modi.

A case filed by Mrs. Zakia Jafri, widow of slain Parliamentarian Ehsan Jafri, is pending against Mr. Modi in the Gujarat High Court.


REFERENCE:
COPY OF US FEDERAL COURT SUMMONS AGAINST INDIAN PM MODI