[post_thumbnail size=”550”]
Amazon Watch announced the filing of an Amicus Brief by 17 civil society groups—including Pachamama Alliance—asking the Court of Appeals to reverse Judge Kaplan's unlawful use of the RICO statute in its 2014 ruling that blocks enforcement of the $9.5 billion Ecuador environmental judgment against Chevron.
"Because of the potential chilling effect on the essential right and freedom of NGOs and activists to pursue and shed light on injustices in the world, Judge Kaplan's opinion must be reversed," said Bill Twist, Co-Founder and CEO of The Pachamama Alliance, a co-signer of the brief.
From Amazon Watch’s release:
As part of his ruling, Judge Kaplan found that organizing protests and distributing press releases by civil society groups in loose coordination with the villagers was part of an illegal "extortion" attempt against Chevron. The submission of the civil society brief follows the release of an open letter signed by 43 environmental and human rights groups, including the Sierra Club and Greenpeace USA, that blasts the company for trying to use the RICO statute to intimidate and silence its critics.
According to the brief: "In essence, this case is an effort by Chevron to retaliate against Ecuadorian villagers, their lawyers, and their supporters for suing, bringing public pressure, and petitioning government agencies to hold Chevron accountable for violations of human rights.
Read Amazon Watch’s full press release here.
