POWs v. Iraq

The "Bar Talk" section in the June issue of The American Lawyer highlights the lawsuit, led by Steptoe's Steve Fennell, brought against Iraq on behalf of former Gulf War POWs seeking damages for the torture they endured while held captive.  The article, "The Final Battle," summarizes the case and discusses the impact of the Bush administration's recent decision to use Iraq's frozen assets for rebuilding and humanitarian purposes, thus making these assets unavailable to pay terrorism claimants, including the POWs, as envisioned by Congress in the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002.  Although this seemingly complicates the case at hand, Steve stresses that according to the Geneva Convention, the liability of Iraq to the POWs cannot be absolved.  He comments that, "it doesn't matter if you have a regime change...the responsibility still lies with the Republic of Iraq."  Although the suit should be decided soon, as the article notes, "[C]ollecting any damages they [the POWs] may be awarded could be a lengthy part two of their battle."

Click here for the full text of the article from The American Lawyer.

For more information on the case, please see the summary below:

Summary of the Case
In Acree v. Republic of Iraq, Steve Fennell, Molly Poag, David Smyth, Tony Onorato, and Allison Ward, along with co-counsel John Norton Moore, represent seventeen American POWs who were tortured, beaten, and starved while held captive in Iraq during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Also included as plaintiffs are thirty-seven close family members of the POWs, who have suffered significant psychological trauma as a result of the torture inflicted upon their loved ones. The suit, filed in federal district court for the District of Columbia, names Saddam Hussein, the Republic of Iraq, and the Iraqi Intelligence Service as defendants. The statute under which this action was filed, 28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(7), strips immunity from a foreign state for any case in which money damages are sought for personal injury caused by an act of torture or the provision of material support or resources for such torture. This statute is narrowly drawn to allow damage awards only against countries on the State Department's list of terrorist nations. Iraq was designated as a state sponsor of terrorism on September 13, 1990.

The defendants in this action are responsible for committing violent and inhuman acts, including both physical and psychological torture, against the Allied POWs held in Iraq between January 1991 and March 1991. The types of torture used included severe beatings (with objects ranging from axe handles and rifle butts to whips and clubs), systemic starvation, systematic exposure to freezing cold and vile confines, deprivation of medical care, electric shock, being burned with cigarettes, mock executions, videotaping for propaganda purposes, threatened castration, threatened amputation and dismemberment, continual death threats, and withholding contact by the Red Cross to confirm that the POWs were alive.

The plaintiffs have filed this suit as a means of deterring the torture of future POWs by sending an unequivocal message that Iraq (a Geneva Conventions signatory) and other terrorist nations will be held accountable for engaging in or sponsoring torture. The plaintiffs in this action intend to assign a substantial portion of any punitive damage award to a Foundation that will provide assistance to POW/MIAs of the United States, its allies, and their families in dealing with the ongoing physical, psychological and other adverse effects arising from their experiences.