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Appeals Court Upholds Civil Verdict in Memphis Against Former Salvadorian Officer
From the Associated Press:
A civil court verdict holding a former commander of El Salvador's security forces responsible for human rights abuses in his native country in the 1980s was upheld Tuesday by a U.S. appeals court.
Nicolas Carranza, a naturalized U.S. citizen living in Memphis, was sued by five current or former Salvadorans who said they were victims of human rights abuses during El Salvador's 12-year civil war.
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati rejected Carranza's claim that he was immune from the lawsuit because of an amnesty passed as part of the 1992 peace accords in El Salvador. That amnesty has no affect on U.S. law, the appeals court said.
"U.S. courts will apply U.S. laws in support of human rights even when regimes try to immunize their own conduct," said David Esquivel, a Nashville lawyer representing Carranza's accusers.
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