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US judge orders payout to families of Yemen victims

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Sudanese government to pay nearly US$8 million to the families of 17 sailors killed in the 2000 terrorist attack on the Navy's USS Cole in Yemen.

The families had sought US$105 million, but US District Judge Robert Doumar said that by law he was not able to award the families damages for mental anguish and emotional distress. Doumar applied the Death on the High Seas Act, which permits compensation for economic losses but not for pain and suffering. He ordered Sudan to pay nearly US$7.96 million.

"It is depressing to realize that a country organized on a religious basis with religious rule of law could and would execute its power for purposes which most countries would find intolerable and loathsome," Doumar wrote in his ruling.

"It is a further tragedy that the laws of the United States, in this instance, provide no remedy for the psychological and emotional losses suffered by the survivors," he wrote.

Messages left for attorneys representing Sudan were not immediately returned.

Andrew Hall, an attorney for the families, said he plans to appeal to try and get the families compensation for their pain and suffering, but said overall he was "thrilled" with the ruling.

The families allege that the Khartoum government provided support, including money and training, that allowed al-Qaeda to attack the Norfolk-based destroyer in the harbor of Aden, Yemen, on Oct. 12, 2000.

In March, Doumar found Sudan liable for the attack and his ruling on Wednesday reaffirmed those findings.

"I was a little bit disappointed in the overall ruling, because we figured we were going to get more, but I'm happy that that part of the case is over," said Lorrie Triplett, 39, whose husband, Andrew, died on the Cole.

Doumar said he calculated the amounts that each family would receive by multiplying the salary of the sailors by the number of years they likely would have worked, while taking into account wage growth.

An attorney for the families has said it would be up to the lawyers to collect damages from Sudan's assets frozen in the US.
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