CIVIL CASES TAKE OVER CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS In the United States, suspects of international crimes who reside or visit the country can be subject to civil suit for violations of international law committed outside of the United States, based on two different bases: The Alien Tort Statute (ATS) gives U.S. federal courts jurisdiction to hear lawsuits filed by non-U.S. citizens for torts committed in violation of international law. Over the past 30 years, the ATS has been used successfully in cases involving torture, state-sponsored sexual violence, extrajudicial killing, crimes against humanity, war crimes and arbitrary detention. The Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) allows U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike to bring civil claims for torture and extrajudicial killing committed in foreign countries. The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) and the Anti-Terrorism Act also permit civil claims against perpetrators of mass atrocity under limited circumstances. These civil cases not only offer survivors an opportunity to face their abusers in a court of law, they can also pave the way for criminal proceedings. Below are some notable cases from this past year: Colvin v. Syrian Arab Republic In 2016, the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) brought the first war crimes lawsuit against the Assad regime for the murder of American war correspondent Marie Colvin. Filed in a federal court in Washington, D.C., the case brings an extrajudicial killing claim under the FSIA, which strips the immunity of designated statesponsors of terrorism for the unlawful killing of U.S. nationals. In March 2018, plaintiffs filed a motion for default judgment against the Syrian government. The evidence submitted by CJA showed that senior members of the Assad regime conspired to kill Marie Colvin and other journalists engaged in independent reporting on the conflict, tracking them down through a web of informants and electronic surveillance. The court’s decision is pending. Mamani v. Berzaín In 2007, the Center for Constitutional Rights brought a lawsuit in a federal court in Florida under the ATS and TVPA against the former President of Bolivia, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, and the former Minister of Defense, Carlos Sánchez Berzaín. The claims arose from a brutal crackdown by the Bolivian military during a period of civil unrest in September and October 2003, during which over 50 civilians were killed and hundreds more were injured. In April 2018, a federal jury found Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín responsible for their roles in planning and ordering the crackdown that led to the extrajudicial killings. It marked the first time a former head of state has been found guilty in a U.S. court for human rights abuses. Plaintiffs were awarded $10 million in compensatory damages. In May 2018, the judge in the case overturned the unanimous jury verdict. The case is now on appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Jane W. v. Thomas In February 2018, CJA filed a lawsuit in federal court in Pennsylvania under the ATS and TVPA on behalf of survivors of the Lutheran Church Massacre of 1990, the worst single atrocity of the Liberian civil war. Despite Liberia’s Truth and 78 Reconciliation Commission identifying the perpetrators of this massacre, no one has ever been held to account. This civil action was brought against Moses Thomas, a former commander of the Special Anti-Terrorism Unit, an elite unit of the armed forces of Liberia. He is believed to be responsible for the Massacre, during which Liberian armed forces attacked a Red Cross designated shelter at the church and massacred 600 civilians. The claims against him include the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, and extrajudicial killing. Thomas filed a motion to dismiss the complaint in April 2018, which the plaintiffs opposed. On 18 December 2018, the Court ruled that Moses Thomas will face trial in Philadelphia. Boniface v. Viliena In Haiti, armed groups that are aligned with political parties routinely kidnap, torture, and kill political opponents, journalists, and human rights advocates; while meting out vigilante justice, collecting bribes, and ensuring loyalty in the face of collapsed legal institutions. One of the leaders allegedly responsible for these abuses is Haitian Mayor, Jean Morose Viliena, who is also a U.S. legal permanent resident. In 2017, CJA filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Massachusetts, setting out claims under the ATS and TVPA against Viliena on behalf of three media activists and human rights defenders. This case seeks to hold Viliena accountable for a 2007 to 2009 campaign of killing, torture, and mass arson. In August 2018, the court ruled that claims related to torture, murder, and mass arson were permitted to proceed, following an attempt by the defendant to dismiss the complaint. Jara v. Barrientos In 2016, a federal jury in Orlando, Florida, found Pedro Pablo Barrientos Nuñez liable under the TVPA for the torture and extrajudicial killing of Víctor