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TechnoratiOne of America's biggest military contractors is being sued by a Nepali labourer and the families of a dozen other employees who say they were taken against their will to work in Iraq. All but one of the Nepalese workers were subsequently kidnapped and murdered.
![[The lawsuit says that Buddi Prasad Gurung was forced to work against his will in a warehouse at the al-Asad air base. (AFP Photo)]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/kbr.jpg "kbr.jpg")
According to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles, the Nepalese workers were recruited in 2004 in their home country by KBR and its Jordanian contractors, Daoud & Partners, to work as kitchen staff in a luxury hotel in Amman. Once they reached the Jordanian capital, however, their passports were taken from them and they were sent to Iraq. While travelling in an unprotected convoy, the Nepalis were kidnapped and later executed.
"It doesn't appear that any of them knew they were going to Iraq," said Matthew Handley, a lawyer representing the only survivor and the families of those who were killed. "A few were told they were going to work at an American camp... They thought they were going to work in America."
The lawsuit says that, after the 12 men were kidnapped, the sole survivor, Buddi Prasad Gurung, was forced to work for 15 months against his will in a warehouse at the al-Asad air base before his passport was finally returned. The plaintiffs allege the "illicit trafficking scheme - from their recruitment in Nepal to their eventual employment in Iraq - was engineered by KBR and its subcontractor".
The lawsuit was brought under a new human trafficking law that allows foreign citizens to sue the US government, military or corporations over human rights abuses committed in their countries.
Earlier this year, the US Department of Labour ordered Daoud to make a payment of $1m (£500,000) to be split between each spouse and set of parents of the murdered 12 Nepalis. The company has so far failed to comment on the lawsuit.
The 12 Nepalis were seized by a group calling itself the Army of Ansar al-Sunna. The men were taken hostage on 20 August 2004 and shortly afterwards the kidnappers released a video of one being beheaded and the other 11 shot.
KBR, formerly known as Kellogg, Brown and Root and once a subsidiary of Halliburton, the company of which the US vice-president, Dick Cheney, was once the chairman, said: "The safety of our employees remains KBR's top priority. The company in no way condones or tolerates unethical or illegal behaviour."
28 Comments so far
Show AllSimply amazing, all of you are screaming to sue KBR, Chaney et al. BUT NONE OF YOU say anything at all against the Army of Ansar al-Sunna who kidnaped and brutally murdered these unarmed innocent civilians. SHAME ON ALL OF YOU !!!
Earlier this year, the US Department of Labour ordered Daoud to make a payment of $1m (£500,000) to be split between each spouse and set of parents of the murdered 12 Nepalis. That's $83333.33 each. A major fortune in Nepal.
What I really liked though was the response of the Nepalese population to these senseless brutal murders (which none of you care about), qur'ans were piled up in the middle of pigs blood splattered mosques and set on fire, virtually every mosque in Nepal was burnt to the ground. Over 98% of the moslems in Nepal fled the country the rest were killed. Despite a formal government ban, about 17,000 Nepalese, not counting ex-Gurkha soldiers, are thought to be working in Iraq, and since the reaction of the Nepalis people not one has been harmed since.
We have no jurisdiction over the army of Ansar al-Sunna. We do have responsibility for KBR lying to these workers about their assignments, putting them in a dangerous place they had not agreed to and then failing to protect them. KBR, unfortunately, it the face of the United States abroad. We pay KBR a lot of money from our taxes and have the right to demand legal and ethical behaviour from them.
Joe
Just like always you "progressives" miss the point, you don't need jurisdiction over the army of Ansar al-Sunna to CONDEMN the senseless slaughter of innocent cooks and dishwashers who posed no threat to the islamic fanatics who believe their religion gives them the right to kill all non-believers. I applaud the people of Nepal for showing the army of Ansar al-Sunna what they could do with their "religion" and I look with disgust at you "progressives".
LIke always, you wouldn't get a point, even if it pierced your eye and brought with it, a brass band inside your ears.
We've already condemned the US gov't for creating this killing field, and based upon your own details, the causative agent was hardly the Muslim religion, but the illegal action of the Americans that started everything. ALL of the death and destruction sits heavily foremost on chicken-hawks death & hate freaks like your self, although the war profiteers deserve a more disgraceful treatment for their manifestly wicked ways
Your utter disgust must be an improved continence compared with your usual hateful wrath. You should be thanking us for making your day !
Namaste
I get the point you member of a shallow minded miniscule irrelevant minority of socially deviant morons. If members of the religion of peace torture and kill unarmed innocent men (cooks and dishwashers) who were absolutely no threat in any way to the army of Ansar al-Sunna or the religion of peace, it's OK with you.
There was no reason what so ever for the members of the religion of peace to commit crimes against humanity (filming the torture of their prisoners), no matter who put them in a war zone they were noncombatants, protected by the Geneva Convention, the murder of these men by members of the religion of peace was a war crime which by the way NO member of the army of Ansar al-Sunna has ever been held accountable for.
The accusation of torture is not by some "unnamed" source, the members of the religion of peace filmed the slow torture and death of these men and sent the film to Al Jazeera who immediately broadcast it. If I was a betting person I would bet you while watching this disgusting film jumped up and down with the other zombies of the religion of peace screaming Allah akbar, Allah akbar, Allah akbar. Just why is Allah is greater? Because Allah allows the members of the religion of peace to torture and kill innocent people?
It doesn't mater who started what, there are laws against torture and killing of noncombatants, laws that according to you everyone else except the members of the religion of peace must follow.
Returning your own words " If I was a betting person I would bet you",
___ that there is a direct connection with the CIA behind "the army of Ansar al-Sunna"
___ that no one that I know of ( other than you ) condones murder and torturous propaganda, but of course only when there's a 7 year old ticking bomb buried under a parked school bus of children -- that are long gone as they already are in the workforce … … …
___ your hateful PSYOPS BS is pathetic and not at all tolerated here.
___ it's your wet dream of a neoCONning Prez RIGHT (wing nut) now, so why's he not taking retribution for this horrendous evil ?
___ why is it the progressive that are responsible for putting these Nepalese in harms way, as we opposed the war that you and your warmongering profiteering buddies started and fanned the flames of ?
Your ticket is punched, you can now leave the bus -- before someone places another nano-thermite device, perhaps in 10 days ?
I guess the SMMIMOSDM club was full of your friends when I stopped by, and laughed at them for choosing a phone booth for the meeting location.
Thank you, for demonstrating your immense mental powers of discernment, and have a nice peaceful day
Namaste
There is a village in Bangladesh that lost its idiot, I gave them YOUR name, you should be getting a call from them any time now.
"that there is a direct connection with the CIA behind "the army of Ansar al-Sunna"
Wrong... The Ansar al-Sunna, or Army of the Protectors of the Sunna [which refers to the collective teachings of the Prophet Muhammad], is a is a Sunni extremist group. Ansar Al Sunna is a faction of Ansar Al Islam and reportedly has close ties with the Al-Zarqawi network. Jaish Ansar al-Sunna appears to be a successor organization to Ansar al-Islam or a subset of it. It is sometimes hard to know exactly where the boundaries of these groups are. These terrorists are targeting the Iraqis and killing many, many more Iraqis than they are killing coalition forces.
Please learn if you can how to use Google.
"that no one that I know of ( other than you ) condones murder and torturous propaganda,"
If you read what I posted and NOT what you think I posted YOU would realize (something extremely difficult for you I know) that I in no way condone torture by anyone especially by members of the religion of peace.
The rest of your rant is that of a delusional psychotic, and could be considered by anyone with a modicum of intelligence torturous propaganda. Please return at all speed to your world of fantasy and myths
I also reported your comments to the moderators , I don't know under what school bus or where you are intending to put a nano-thermite device but I am sure the legal authorities would be interested.
W o w, I guess I should have looked both ways before crossing your street.
In no way do I in the LEAST condone torture or terror, even of those deserving life w/o parole.
I guess the allegory was behind in rent for your mental space to rent, so perhaps this will remind you:
__ today is the 1st of Sept
__ 10 days from now is the 11th of Sept
__ a large number of nano-thermite devices were places by agents of the USA gov't
__ on this same anniversary day, 7 years ago -- you might of heard of it?
I even requested that you leave the bus !
Namaste
And slavery makes it's big comeback in the US of A!
You can always count on a corporation to go just that much deeper than the bottom of the barrel.
And no doubt, these animals (the CEOs of KBR) will get a walk.
'Cuz their Uncle Dick is in tight wit da prez don'tchaknow...
Walk in peace.
There are far too many venues to charge these companies and their executives under so do not believe that they are above the law.
The real test is whether there are enough people world wide who care enough to see to it that justice is served.
Do not look for the United States to lead the way. There are not enough people in the United States who care; and their tax dollars are the main financial motivation that caused the problem to begin with, along with their greed, ignorance, fear, arrogance and their inability to live the example they profess to set. Far too many Americans believe themselves to be appointed by some God somewhere that gives them the authority as well as the power to create so much misery in so many other countries, for short sighted selfish motivations; and of course to make a few of them very wealthy at the expense of so many.
The Americans have been so successful at home, so why not export there misery?
So does this mean that all that is left for the KBR CEOs is street justice? This is exactly the type of situation that could turn some peaceful Buddhist Nepali into a vengeance seeker. We create terrorism by condoning horrible acts against ordinary innocent people.
I hope that someone can figure out how to bring charges for slave trafficing, kidnapping and recklessly endangering the lives of their workers.
Joe
rob-bot,
Someone with law background needs to take this on as a project! Then, we the people could file a petition or law suit to have the courts take a re-look at this situation....all the way to the Supreme Court! Oh, what am I thinking!!! The Supreme Court is stacked!
John F. Butterfield
Yes, try the whole corporation!
http://pwp.surfglobal.net/butterfield/CapitalPunishmentForCorporations.h...
I view shareholders as highrolling financiers who are looking to make money from the hard work of other people. The stock market should be risky.
abuelo,
You ask why not try corporations for crimes like this? This is exactly the problem! Think about it....who would you try? You cannot "try" a whole corporation. Who would go to jail? The CEO, the Board, the Shareholders, who? That is why we must work really hard to reverse the law that gives personhood to a Corporation! Or, we must hold them accountable by a new law that names someone in that corporation as the ultimate "holder of the bag." This is one of the major and most important issues facing America! ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CORPORATIONS!!! They are getting away with wreaking havoc on our environment, exploiting our resources, attempting to make slaves out of workers, breaking the unions, ruining family life, taking jobs out of America, creating sweatshops, and yes, outright murder!
The problem of corporations being considered "legal persons" while not liable for their misconduct as much as an actual person can only be solved by a constitutional amendment that explicitly states that only actual flesh and blood persons are entitled to protections provided for in the 14th Amendment. Another section of the amendment should state that fiduciary responsibility does not trump social responsibility (most corporate charters direct executives to put the financial health of the corporation above all other concerns that many officers are "compelled" to misbehave). Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has ruled in Santa Clara vs. Union Pacific and approximately 50 other cases that gives corporations their legal cover. The only way to correct this is by constitutional amendment.
I have read, but don't have the resources to check for myself, that this case did not establish personal rights for corporations. However, the abstract for the case, written by a law clerk friendly to the railroads, states that such a decision was reached in the case. It would be interesting if all subsequent cases that used this case as precedent were mislead by a deceptive abstract.
Dick Cheney's erstwhile subsidiary guilty of human trafficking and slavery? I'm shocked, shocked!
Alex
Paul Siemering
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, and so is also a place for traffickers to ply their loathsome trade. Many girls are rented out to rich people as domestic servants for $50 a year. Also the women are lighter than Indians and so coveted for prostitution. No surprise then that KBR would go there to take advantage of their poverty and innocence to get slaves.
this whole story would be revolting enough if everyone got out alive. That all but one were killed makes it unspeakable. KBR did not shoot them? ok but they did willfully and maliciously put them in a really deadly situation- working for the occupying armed forces.
And yeah- if corporations want to be "persons" for financial reasons, why should they not also be tried as persons when they do crimes like this? K and B and R all belong behind bars, and Cheney too
We can only imagine how much stuff like this will continue to drip from the cesspool that has been the Bush/Cheney horror.
On a related note ("The safety of our employees remains KBR's top priority. The company in no way condones or tolerates unethical or illegal behaviour."):
I haven't heard anything about the KBR rape cases lately.
How truly unsurprising that KBR and their partners acted in a manner not unlike the Russian Mafia or Chinese snake heads (the usual suspects in human trafficking). Considering how their reign of lawlessness went unpunished by the regime in which their former CEO (btw: the best thing Dick Cheney ever did for Haliburton's stock price was becoming Vice President) is a prime player, the move into conduct that is the province of career criminals is not that much of a leap. Given the sick precedent established by the likes of KBR, it would not be a surprise that mafia operations incorporate themselves in the near future. After all, incorporation in the United States provides some of the best legal protection for misbehavior that money can buy.
I have a feeling cheney's still running KBR. This is soooo cheney. You can bet there are thousands of workers in Iraq without their passports as we speak.
Got to agree. Dick Vader has been running everything else for 8 years. And is so Cheneyish.
Surely there are a lot more people out there that could sue this disgrace to America. This company if it were a person would be stood against the nearest wall and shot for its betrayal of ..............(fill in the blank, because I don't think they missed anyone)
I wish I could say "unbelievable" except this is totally in character for KBR. They should be prosecuted immediately.
"The company in no way condones or tolerates unethical or illegal behaviour."
If this wasn't so funny, it would be hilarious.
Halliburton, KBR, cheney and the rest will eventually be exposed as the war criminals they are and should be behind bars for eternity.
I agree, except that having any _b a r s_ means something to
__ | s | e | e | __ | t | h | r | o | u | g | h | __
They deserve the justice of rotting in a featureless out-house-like box in the ground, perhaps with a tin roof in the desert w/ one bullet hole for ventilation, while continuously hearing the varied screams of their uncountable victims.
Namaste
agreed