Ex-Somali PM Ordered to Pay Plaintiffs in War Crimes Case

A U.S. court has ordered a former Somali prime minister to pay $21 million to victims of torture and human rights abuses while he was in office.

A U.S. court has ordered a former Somali prime minister to pay $21 million to victims of torture and human rights abuses while he was in office.

A federal district court near Washington ruled that Mohamed Ali Samantar must pay damages to victims of torture and human rights abuses during the 1980s.

Samantar was a senior general under former Somali dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, who was overthrown in 1991. At different times, he served as vice president, defense minister and prime minister during the 21 years he ruled the Horn of Africa nation.

The civil court judgment comes after an eight-year legal battle that at one point went to the U.S. Supreme Court. Samantar ended efforts to defend himself in the civil case and declared bankruptcy, making it unlikely that the seven plaintiffs in the case would receive any money.