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Lawyers For Larry Bowoto Respond to Chevron Executive's Comments |
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Written by EarthRights International
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Thursday, 29 May 2008 |
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May
28, 2008, San Ramon, California – At Chevron’s Annual General Meeting today,
Larry Bowoto, the lead plaintiff in the landmark case Bowoto v. Chevron,
called for the oil giant’s accountability for human rights violations
and environmental abuses. Bowoto sustained critical injuries after military
forces hired by Chevron opened fire on a peaceful protest in the Niger Delta
exactly ten years ago today. He called for the corporation to “give up violence
as a way of doing business.” His pleas were met with harsh criticism by Chairman
and CEO David O’Reilly, who declared Mr. Bowoto a “criminal.”
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Demonstrator Larry Bowoto, center
right wearing white, leads other demonstrators from a Chevron
shareholders meeting at Chevron headquarters in San Ramon, Calif.,
Wednesday, May 28, 2008. Bowoto and several other Nigerians are
involved in a lawsuit against Chevron for two government military
attacks that left protesters injured and some killed during a rally
against the pollution of fishing grounds and farms, according to the
lawsuit.(Associated Press/Yahoo! News. AP Photo/Paul Sakuma) |
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Mr. Bowoto’s lawyer Bert Voorhees issued the
following statement in response:
“We are outraged at the comments of
Mr. O'Reilly. Such remarks further reveal the profound insensitivity of
Chevron’s executives to the egregious conduct and environmental destruction that
they, in fact, are responsible for in Nigeria. It is more than a little ironic
that a company that has wantonly polluted the Ilaje homeland and unleashed the
notorious kill-and-go Nigerian military on unarmed protestors has accused Mr.
Bowoto of engaging in criminal conduct. It is Mr. O'Reilly and not Mr. Bowoto
who should be charged with criminal misconduct. We look forward to presenting
his case in court." Watch Bert Voorhees' interview on KTVU2News
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Bowoto v. Chevron, No. 99-2506,
will go to trial before Federal District Court Judge Susan Illston in September
in San Francisco; a related case in California Superior Court, No.
CGC-03-417580, will also proceed to trial before Judge Harold E. Kahn in the
fall. In addition to Mr. Voorhees' firm, Traber & Voorhees, and EarthRights
International, the plaintiffs are represented by several law firms including
Hadsell Stormer Keeny Richardson & Renick, Siegel & Yee, Paul Hoffman,
Michael Sorgen, Robert Newman, Anthony DiCaprio, and Richard Wiebe; as well as
the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
>> Listen to Larry Bowoto on KPFA Radio's Africa Today
>> Read Larry Bowoto's Op-ed in the LA Times - "Chevron Should Pay"
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Meida Contacts: Ateqah
Khaki, Riptide Communications, 212-260-5000; Marco Simons, EarthRights International, 917-696-3304 |
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