D.C. to pay 13.7 million to mistreated World Bank, IMF protesters

By Agence France-Presse
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 -- 11:37 am
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D.C. to pay 13.7 million to mistreated World Bank, IMF protestersWASHINGTON — The city of Washington has agreed to pay 13.7 million dollars to some 700 demonstrators and bystanders mistreated by police during demonstrations against the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in 2000.

"We think it's an historic settlement. It's the largest settlement for a protest case in Washington D.C. and we believe in the country," Partnership for Civil Justice, which filed the class action lawsuit, said in a statement.

The settlement after nine years of legal action was signed Monday and needs to be confirmed by the courts in the coming months, Partnership spokeswoman Mara Verheyden-Hilliard told AFP on Tuesday.

Around 680 demonstrators and some unsuspecting tourists and reporters were arrested in April 2000 during World Bank and IMF meetings in the US capital. The marches followed similar protests during a World Trade Organization meeting months earlier in Seattle, Washington state.

"Some of them were held on a bus with their hands tied behind their back for up to 12 hours. They were denied food, water, people were not allowed to go to the bathroom. People on the bus would be forced to urinate on themselves," the spokeswoman said.

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None of the people arrested were charged. Verheyden-Hilliard said the police action as a "mass false arrest."

Each member of the class action suit is to receive about 18,000 dollars in the settlement.

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Story comments are below...

  • kucinich2012
    Now...round up the fucking Fascist Pigs, fire them, and recruit people who understand their responsibilities do NOT require intimidation, threats, and violence!!!
  • marxymcliberalson
    There's nothing to stop this, they abuse you, they say- so sue, if you actually make it past sovereign immunity, and win, then they pay you with your own money and get ready to abuse you again..
  • buckqjohnson
    Not enough in my opinion, they should have won a billion dollar settlement in order to send a warning to state and local govt. that you can't tread on peoples rights. That money after 8 years is a small state investment vehicle that was vested or money that they where able to appropriate from the fed. It's chump change and everybody knows it. And on top of that why isn't the cops and authorities being held accountable for false arrest illegal detainment and the other plethora of charges that would easily have been applied to us if we done the same thing. It's because the police got away with murder essentially and the won't do anything about it. We talk about other countries police and govt. officials being corrupt, it's like the pot calling the kettle black.

    We are a fascist state and people are slowly starting to realize it. We only have rights when they say we have rights. I want the morons who support these thugs and there actions to be alive and well in the near future. They will look up and finally see what is walking down the road toward them from the road they paved with good intentions, and it won't be pretty. As they always say the road to hell is paved with the gold bricks of good intentions. The problem is that once the road is built, it's a two way street. You can go to hell and hell can come to you whether you want it to or not.
  • braind
    D.C. pays????? That means you and I pay. Why not make the police and other "governmet officals" pay out of their pockets. Then maybe next time there won't be a next time.
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