RICHMOND, Va. – A Somali man who says he was tortured and shot by an ex-Somali military officer now living in Virginia is trying to revive a key portion of his international lawsuit against the ex-officer.
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond heard arguments in Farhan Warfaa's case Wednesday.
Warfaa, who still lives in Somalia, claims Yusuf Abdi Ali presided over his torture for three months in 1987 and 1988 and shot him five times. Ali now lives in Alexandria, Virginia.
A judge last year ruled that a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling bars Warfaa's claims under the Alien Tort Statute because the alleged abuse occurred in another country. Warfaa's lawyers say if the ruling stands, the U.S. will be safe harbor for war criminals.
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