Yousef v. Samantar
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
552 F.3d 371 (4th Cir. 2009)
Facts
Yousef (plaintiff), a native of Somalia, and other Somalian citizens brought suit in federal district court against Mohamed Ali Samantar (defendant) for alleged violations of the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 and the Alien Tort Statute. Samantar was a government official under the regime of Mohamed Siad Barre, and allegedly tortured Yousef and the other plaintiffs while carrying out the official policy of that government. The district court held Samantar was entitled to sovereign immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) of 1976 because he was a government official who was being sued for actions taken in his official capacity. Yousef appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Traxler, J.)
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