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PRESS RELEASE<br><br>
<br><br>
Judge finds Modesto man liable for 1980 Assassination<br><br>
of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador,<br><br>
Orders him to pay $10 million in damages<br><br>
<br><br>
Contacts: Center for Justice
& Accountability<br><br>
Matthew Eisenbrandt, co-counsel & Litigation Director: cell: (415)
225-0028<br><br>
Almudena Bernabeu, International Attorney, cell: (415) 305-2097<br><br>
Patty Blum, Senior Legal Advisor, cell: (646) 644-3887<br><br>
Sandra Coliver, Executive Director: cell: (202) 422-4837<br><br>
<br><br>
Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP<br><br>
**Nicholas van Aelstyn, Lead Trial Counsel: cell: (415)
519-1661<br><br>
Russell Cohen, co-counsel, cell: (415) 203-8021<br><br>
Wayne Kessler, Public Information Officer: (212) 847-8680<br><br>
<br><br>
Fresno, September 3, 2004. Today at 5.45 pm, Judge Wanger issued a
historic<br>
decision holding Modesto resident Alvaro Saravia responsible for his role
in<br>
the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador as he was
saying<br>
mass on March 24, 1980. Judge Wanger ordered Saravia to pay $10 million
to<br>
the plaintiff, a relative of the Archbishop, who has still not been<br>
identified for security reasons.<br><br>
<br><br>
Until today, no single individual has been held responsible for the<br>
assassination, one of the most heinous and shocking murders of the last
part<br>
of the 20th century.<br><br>
<br><br>
In announcing the monetary award, Judge Wanger stated that "the
damages are<br>
of a magnitude that is hardly describable."<br><br>
<br><br>
Judge Wanger ruled that the evidence clearly established Saravia's<br>
responsibility for organizing the murder. He also determined that the
murder<br>
constitutes a crime against a humanity, because it was part of a
widespread<br>
and systematic attack intended to terrorize a civilian population. As
Judge<br>
Wanger stated:<br><br>
<br><br>
"Here the evidence shows that there was a consistent and unabating
regime<br>
that was in control of El Salvador, and that this regime
essentially<br>
functioned as a militarily-controlled government." The
government<br>
perpetrated "systematic violations of human rights for the purpose
of<br>
perpetuating the oligarchy and the military government."<br><br>
<br><br>
He also concluded that what happened in El Salvador was the
"antithesis of<br>
due process" and that there could not be a better example of
extrajudicial<br>
killing than the killing of Archbishop Romero.<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
Judge Wanger's ruling is one of the few in the United States finding
an<br>
invidual liable for crimes against humanity. Such crimes were first
defined<br>
and condemned in 1945 in the Nuremberg Charter, established to try Nazi
war<br>
criminals. The novelty of crimes against humanity is that they can
be<br>
committed by a government against its own citizens. In contrast, genocide
is<br>
widespread persecution directed against a distinct people, defined by
race,<br>
ethnicity, or religion.<br><br>
<br><br>
The case was brought by the Center for Justice & Accountability
(CJA), based<br>
in San Francisco, together with the law firm of Heller Ehrman White
&<br>
McAuliffe.<br><br>
<br><br>
Professor Patty Blum, CJA's Senior Legal Advisor, commented: "With
this<br>
victory, U.S. courts join with national and international courts
throughout<br>
the world in recognizing that egregious acts -- so atrocious that we
label<br>
them crimes against all humanity -- must not go unpunished. Judge
Wanger<br>
has provided Salvadorans, both in El Salvador and here in the U.S., with
a<br>
measure of justice denied to them in their own country, for the loss
of<br>
their most beloved leader, who was truly the voice of the voiceless
during<br>
one of El Salvador's darkest times.<br><br>
<br><br>
"This decision ensures that the United States will no longer be a
safe haven<br>
for those responsible for this heinous crime," said Matthew
Eisenbrandt,<br>
CJA's Litigation Director. "This verdict provides sufficient grounds
for the<br>
immigration service to place Saravia in deportation
proceedings."<br><br>
<br><br>
Lead counsel Nicholas van Aelstyn, a partner with Heller Ehrman White
&<br>
McAuliffe, added: "Archbishop Romero's legacy is great and yet
also<br>
paradoxical. He is revered around the world as one of the foremost
figures<br>
of non-violence whose powerful advocacy of human rights was rooted in a
deep<br>
respect for the dignity of all human beings. Yet at the same time,
his is<br>
the paradigmatic case of impunity. Despite all the evidence, no one
has<br>
been held accountable in the 24 years since he was
killed."<br><br>
<br><br>
Co-counsel Russell Cohen of Heller Ehrman stated: "This case
builds on the<br>
efforts of people around the world to counter impunity with
accountability<br>
and ultimately to bring justice for and in El Salvador. The case is
part of<br>
a world-wide movement that includes the Chilean Supreme Court's
decision<br>
that Pinochet must stand trial for his crimes. What these cases are
saying<br>
is that justice is needed if reconciliation and the rule of law are to
take<br>
root."<br><br>
<br><br>
Other comments:<br><br>
<br><br>
Prof. Terry Karl of Stanford University, who testified at the trial as
an<br>
expert witness, stated:<br><br>
"El Salvador's civil war was framed by the murder of priests. The
murder of<br>
Archbishop Romero was one of the major catalysts that pushed the
country<br>
into war and the murder of six Jesuit priests on November 16, 1989 was
one<br>
of the major catalysts that brought about the peace agreement. One of
the<br>
Jesuits who was killed, Fr Ignacio Martin Baro, used to tell me
that the<br>
worst thing that could happen was not the murder of Archbishop Romero or
his<br>
burial, but that he would die over and over again if the truth were
buried<br>
with him. Today we have the satisfaction of knowing that more of the
truth<br>
was told and acknowledged by a court of the United
States."<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
Juan Carlos Cristales, Executive Director of El Rescate in Los Angeles,
one<br>
of the leading organizations in the U.S. that defends the rights of
Central<br>
Americans, commented: "The assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero
was one<br>
of the most shocking atrocities in our recent history. As long as that
crime<br>
was allowed to go unpunished, any crime was conceivable. This case has
said<br>
"No!" to impunity. There are consequences for such acts - maybe
not yet in<br>
El Salvador, but in the U.S. and elsewhere. I believe that the success
of<br>
this case will give support to efforts in El Salvador to repeal the
1993<br>
Amnesty law."<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
Dr. Francisco Acosta, a witness at the trial whose life was saved
by<br>
Archbishop Romero and who founded the Archbishop Romero University in
El<br>
Salvador, stated: "For us, Oscar Romero was like Martin Luther
King for the<br>
United States, or Gandhi for India. I knew that the opportunity to
tell the<br>
truth in a legal court of the most powerful country in the world will
help<br>
to provide a sense of closure for all of Salvadoran society. At last,
steps<br>
have been taken to reverse impunity for human rights violators. At
the<br>
personal level, I feel a strong sense of healing and closure. For almost
25<br>
years, I have carried a bag of heavy rocks with me everywhere I go.
Today, I<br>
have left this bag of rocks with the U.S. system of
justice."<br><br>
<br><br>
For additional comments:<br><br>
Francisco Acosta, trial witness and founder of the Oscar Romero
University<br>
in El Salvador,<br><br>
Tel: (301) 593 7381 or cell (301) 906-8378<br><br>
Rev. William Wipfler, trial witness, Episcopal priest who said mass
with<br>
Romero the day before he was killed:<br><br>
tel: (716) 677-2303<br><br>
Fr. Stephen Privett, a Jesuit priest and President of the University of
San<br>
Francisco:<br><br>
Tel: (415) 422-6762<br><br>
<br><br>
Sample press coverage of the case in English:<br><br>
NYTimes, Aug. 28:<br>
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Salvador-Slain-Bishop.html" eudora="autourl">http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Salvador-Slain-Bishop.html<br><br>
</a>The Independent UK, Aug. 24:<br><br>
<a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=554530" eudora="autourl">http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=554530<br>
</a><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-romero24aug24,1,7421685.story?coll=l" eudora="autourl">http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-romero24aug24,1,7421685.story?coll=l<br>
</a>a-headlines-california<br><br>
New Zealand Herald, Aug. 28:<br><br>
<a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3587552&thesection=news&t" eudora="autourl">http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3587552&thesection=news&t<br>
</a>hesubsection=world<br><br>
<br><br>
Spanish:<br><br>
El Nuevo Diario,<br>
<a href="http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/especiales/especiales-20040830-19.html" eudora="autourl">http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/especiales/especiales-20040830-19.html<br><br>
</a>La Opinion, Sept. 2,<br>
<a href="http://www.laopinion.com/estado/?rkey=00040901172413401302" eudora="autourl">http://www.laopinion.com/estado/?rkey=00040901172413401302<br><br>
</a>La Prensa Grafica, Aug. 27,
<a href="http://www.laprensagrafica.com/mundo/mundo3.asp" eudora="autourl">http://www.laprensagrafica.com/mundo/mundo3.asp<br><br>
<br><br>
</a> *****<br><br>
THE NEW YORK TIMES<br>
Editorials/ Op-Ed<br>
August 31, 2004<br>
Justice Comes for the Archbishop<br>
By RIGOBERTA MENCHÚ TUM<br><br>
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/31/opinion/31menchu.html" eudora="autourl">http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/31/opinion/31menchu.html<br><br>
</a>Guatemala City - Nearly 25 years after Archbishop Óscar Romero
was<br>
assassinated while celebrating Mass in San Salvador, a chance for
justice<br>
has finally appeared. A judge is expected to rule on Friday in a
landmark<br>
lawsuit brought against a man accused of being an accomplice in the
murder.<br>
The venue, however, is not a Salvadoran tribunal but a federal court
in<br>
Fresno, Calif., where a longtime United States resident, Álvaro
Saravia,<br>
faces civil charges for helping carry out orders to have Archbishop
Romero<br>
killed.<br><br>
Mr. Saravia, a former Salvadoran air force captain and close associate
of<br>
Roberto d'Aubuisson, the founder of El Salvador's ruling right-wing
party,<br>
is accused of obtaining the assassin's gun, arranging for his
transportation<br>
to the chapel, and paying him afterwards. The suit, filed on behalf of
a<br>
relative of the archbishop by the Center for Justice and Accountability,
a<br>
human rights group, seeks damages for extrajudicial killing and
crimes<br>
against humanity. Evidence was presented last week, and although Mr.
Saravia<br>
has gone into hiding and is being tried in absentia, if the judge finds
him<br>
liable he will face monetary damages.<br><br>
This case is being watched closely throughout Central America, where
fragile<br>
new democracies suffer the lingering effects of unpunished wartime
crimes.<br>
The failure to bring human rights violators to justice encourages
more<br>
violence, as the killing of Archbishop Romero and the 1998 assassination
of<br>
Bishop Juan Gerardi in Guatemala sadly illustrated. The lack of arrests
in<br>
the Romero murder was a signal that Salvadoran armed forces and
paramilitary<br>
groups enjoyed impunity for their crimes, quickening the country's
descent<br>
into a brutal 12-year civil war that left more than 75,000 civilians
dead.<br><br>
Countries emerging from civil conflict must reconcile the dual needs
of<br>
consolidating stability and pursuing justice, a difficulty easily
exploited<br>
by those intent on protecting their own interests. In El Salvador,
a<br>
sweeping amnesty law rendered the 1993 findings of a United Nations
truth<br>
commission legally irrelevant. That commission found Mr. d'Aubuisson
(who<br>
died in 1992) and Mr. Saravia responsible for Archbishop Romero's
murder,<br>
but neither man could be prosecuted in his homeland.<br><br>
Thus the best chance for justice stems from the coincidence of Mr.
Saravia's<br>
residency - he has been in America since at least 1987. Through the
Alien<br>
Tort Claims Act of 1789, the United States allows foreign citizens to
sue<br>
people living within American borders. Fortunately, this summer in a
case<br>
involving the kidnapping of a Mexican doctor, the Supreme Court
decided<br>
against the Bush administration and affirmed the applicability of the act
in<br>
human rights cases.<br><br>
The Saravia trial, while an inspiring exercise in American law, does
raise<br>
disturbing questions about United States policy. How did Mr. Saravia come
to<br>
live in California in the first place? Declassified State Department
and<br>
Central Intelligence Agency documents reveal that the government was
aware<br>
of Mr. Saravia's alleged involvement in the Romero assassination as early
as<br>
May 1980. The trial also represents an opportunity to examine,
albeit<br>
obliquely, the responsibility of the Salvadoran government and its
closest<br>
ally, the United States, in the events that led to the deaths of tens
of<br>
thousands of Salvadoran civilians.<br><br>
It is a sort of redemption, then, that the first trial in this murder
is<br>
taking place in an American court. Let us hope that justice will be
served<br>
at last in the case of Óscar Romero, and that it will inspire the<br>
governments of the United States, El Salvador and other nations to
prosecute<br>
the many human rights abusers who live openly among us.<br><br>
Rigoberta Menchú Tum was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992.<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
Moira Feeney<br>
Law Clerk / Media Coordinator<br>
Center for Justice and Accountability<br>
870 Market Street, Suite 688<br>
San Francisco, CA 94102<br>
Tel: 415.544.0444 x302<br>
Fax: 415.544.0456<br>
<a href="http://www.cja.org/" eudora="autourl">www.cja.org<br>
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