Oct 27, 2008 7:40 pm US/Pacific
Chevron Nigerian Death Lawsuit Being Heard In SF
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ―
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Chevron contends that during a 1998 incident, the protesters took oil workers hostage, demanded ransom money and threatened them.
AP
An alliance of grassroots human rights groups from Nigeria and the U.S. gathered at a Chevron gas station in San Francisco to show support for the Nigerian plaintiffs in a federal human rights trial that began Monday.
Organizers from Global Exchange, Justice in Nigeria Now, and West County Toxics Coalition, based in Contra Costa County, gathered about 100 anti-Chevron protesters in front of the company's gas station at 9th and Howard streets in San Francisco early Monday afternoon.
At the federal court building a few blocks away, jury selection began in the court of Judge Susan Ilston for the case, "Bowoto v. Chevron."
The lawsuit stems from an incident in May 1998 in which more than 100 Nigerians occupied a Chevron subsidiary's drilling platform and barge for three days until they were removed by Nigerian security forces summoned by the company.
Three protesters who were hurt and the family of one who died sued San Ramon-based Chevron in 1999, seeking compensation for alleged wrongful death, injuries and torture.
The Nigerians, who were protesting alleged environmental harm from oil drilling and seeking jobs, say the demonstration was peaceful.
Their lawsuit claims the company, in conjunction with the security forces, "maliciously and systematically violated defendants' human rights for the purpose and with the effect of suppressing plaintiffs' peaceful protests."
At the gas station Monday, protesters carried signs including one bearing Chevron's blue and red logo between the words "Chevwrong: InHumane Energy." They chanted, "Clean up, pay up, pack your bags and go!"
"We're here to keep awareness going against Chevron," said Omoyele Sowore, a Nigerian human rights activist who traveled to San Francisco to support his countrymen in the trial against the oil firm.
Chevron contends that during the 1998 incident, the protesters took oil workers hostage, demanded ransom money and threatened them.
"They seized an oil platform, armed themselves, poured diesel fuel over the platform and threatened to light it on fire and kill everyone," Chevron spokesman Don Campbell said.
The company maintains its subsidiary had a duty to summon the security forces and that it is not responsible for alleged excessive force.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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