Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991
Encyclopedia
The Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 (TVPA), , , is a statute that allows for the filing of civil suits, in the United States
, against individuals who, acting in an official capacity for any foreign nation, committed torture
and/or extrajudicial kill
ing. The statute requires a plaintiff to show exhaustion of local remedies in the location of the crime, to the extent that such remedies are "adequate and available." Plaintiffs may be citizens or noncitizens.
Although the Act was not passed until early 1992, it was introduced the previous year, and the official name of the Act is the "Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991."
(AEDPA), (a)(7), created an exception to the FSIA, allowing U.S. nationals to sue foreign states if the state has been designated as a state sponsor of terrorism and if the plaintiff's injury has been caused by the state's support of a terrorist organization. Following the passage of the AEDPA, numerous suits have been filed against state sponsors of terrorism, particularly Iran
. Because some courts have held that the AEDPA does not create a cause of action against foreign states, plaintiffs have used the TVPA and the AEDPA in concert, first using the AEDPA to provide an exception to a foreign state's sovereign immunity, and then using the TVPA to provide a cause of action.
The TVPA has also been used by victims of torture by agents of the United States. In Meshal v. Higgenbotham
, a natural born American citizen alleges U.S. officials repeatedly threatened him with torture, forced disappearance, and other serious harm.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, against individuals who, acting in an official capacity for any foreign nation, committed torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
and/or extrajudicial kill
KILL
KILL is the sixth album by Detroit rock band Electric Six.In initial press releases, the band described the album as being a return to a sound more akin to their debut album, but this was later revealed by front-man Dick Valentine to be more gimmick than truth.An explicit video was released for...
ing. The statute requires a plaintiff to show exhaustion of local remedies in the location of the crime, to the extent that such remedies are "adequate and available." Plaintiffs may be citizens or noncitizens.
Although the Act was not passed until early 1992, it was introduced the previous year, and the official name of the Act is the "Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991."
Legal issues
The TVPA has been used by victims of terrorism to sue foreign states that have been designated by the U.S. as state sponsors of terrorism, such as Iraq (which has since been removed from the list) and Iran. See Daliberti v. Republic of Iraq, 97 F.Supp.2d 38 (D.D.C. 2000); Weinstein v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 184 F.Supp.2d 13 (D.D.C. 2002). The Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA), , prohibits foreign states from being sued in U.S. courts for most non-commercial issues. The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996
The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214, is an act of Congress signed into law on April 24, 1996...
(AEDPA), (a)(7), created an exception to the FSIA, allowing U.S. nationals to sue foreign states if the state has been designated as a state sponsor of terrorism and if the plaintiff's injury has been caused by the state's support of a terrorist organization. Following the passage of the AEDPA, numerous suits have been filed against state sponsors of terrorism, particularly Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Because some courts have held that the AEDPA does not create a cause of action against foreign states, plaintiffs have used the TVPA and the AEDPA in concert, first using the AEDPA to provide an exception to a foreign state's sovereign immunity, and then using the TVPA to provide a cause of action.
The TVPA has also been used by victims of torture by agents of the United States. In Meshal v. Higgenbotham
Meshal v. Higgenbotham
Meshal v. Higgenbotham is a U.S. federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Amir Mohamed Meshal, a natural born citizen of the United States, charging two agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation , Chris Higgenbotham and Steve Hersem, and two other unknown U.S....
, a natural born American citizen alleges U.S. officials repeatedly threatened him with torture, forced disappearance, and other serious harm.
External links
- Human Rights First; Leave No Marks: Enhanced Interrogation Techniques and the Risk of Criminality