Summary Execution: The Seattle Assassinations of Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes by Michael Withey

Author:Michael Withey [Withey, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, Political Process, Political Advocacy, True Crime, Murder, General, Political Ideologies, Fascism & Totalitarianism
ISBN: 9781947290365
Google: qZDrDwAAQBAJ
Amazon: B077TRYRGC
Barnesnoble: B077TRYRGC
Goodreads: 37677026
Publisher: WildBlue Press
Published: 2018-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:

IMMUNITY

Seattle

Meanwhile, developments in our civil lawsuit were equally ominous. Within a month of being served by Bill Davis, the US State Department brought a Suggestion of Immunity in front of Judge Voorhees. In this pleading, the State Department, represented by the very same US Attorney’s office which was obstructing our justice efforts, informed Judge Voorhees that both Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos enjoyed head of state immunity, and that the foreign policy of the US would be adversely affected if the lawsuit against them were not dismissed immediately.

Head of state immunity was widely recognized by the courts to be absolute and not dependent upon the nature of the violations alleged. The State Department’s brief was full of assertions of national security, state’s interests, and the “train of horribles” that would befall our country if Marcos was required to defend our case. Overall, the State Department’s suggestion was as subtle as a sledge hammer.

Our legal team had decided to pursue a more nuanced approach to any suggestion of immunity. We recognized that, in almost all cases, a sitting foreign head of state could not be sued in US court. At the same time, we argued for a Nuremberg exception to immunity, based on the prosecution of Nazi war criminals after World War II. This exception would require even a head of state to appear and defend a lawsuit that alleged serious violations of the Law of Nations, including those prohibiting the use of summary execution as an instrument of state policy.

Summary execution refers to actions by a military or a government that become the accuser, prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner of political opponents without a just and fair trial. It is a form of extra-judicial punishment and is universally recognized as a violation of the Law of Nations.

We also hoped to develop and push forward the legal doctrine of universal jurisdiction, which had been argued in other cases brought by our co-counsel, the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York. This doctrine recognized that lawsuits or criminal charges could be brought against the perpetrators of human rights violations wherever such person could be located and sued. Since we served Marcos in the US, courts in this country would have jurisdiction over the human rights case against him.

Unfortunately, this doctrine had never been found to trump head of state immunity, and we knew our chances of getting it adopted in our case were admittedly slim. But that didn’t prevent our CJDV communications team from going into overdrive. We publicly and loudly decried the assertion of national security and foreign policy interests as a means to avoid taking responsibility for the murders of two American citizens in broad daylight. We pointed out that the US intervention into the case on behalf of Marcos was further evidence of the long-time US support for a foreign dictator who oppressed the rights of his own people.

Judge Voorhees, without even waiting for our opposition brief, granted the State Department’s motion to dismiss the Marcoses from the lawsuit “with prejudice.

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