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.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese