Court orders UNOCAL to stand trial
for abuses in Burma

Burmese peasants and oil executives to meet in California courtroom

Los Angeles and Washington, DC, June 11, 2002 ? A landmark human rights lawsuit against Unocal Corp. will be going to trial in California Superior Court in September, following today's decision by Judge Victoria Chaney rejecting the oil giant's attempt to dismiss the case. The suit challenges human rights abuses committed by the notoriously brutal Burmese military on behalf of Unocal's Yadana Pipeline project in southern Burma. It is the first case in U.S. history in which a corporation will stand trial for human rights abuses committed abroad.

"We presented the court with irrefutable evidence that the Burmese military forced villagers to perform hard labor against their will and committed widespread human rights violations for the benefit of Unocal's project," said Richard Herz of EarthRights International, co-counsel for the plaintiffs. "Unocal was dealing with the devil. Now they will have to answer to a jury."

The plaintiffs in John Doe I et. al. v. Unocal Corp. et al. are villagers who lived near the pipeline. Some were forced to work on pipeline infrastructure by the military, Unocal's project partner. The remainder suffered other egregious abuses during the military's provision of "security" for the project. For example, two of the plaintiffs were sexually assaulted, and one, an infant, died after being kicked into a cooking fire.

Paul Hoffman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said today, "This is an important decision, not only because it allows Unocal to be held liable for abuses committed overseas, but also because it tells other multinational corporations that go into business with repressive dictatorships that they are responsible for their partner's human rights violations." Co-counsel Dan Stormer concurred, stating "After six years of litigation, the plaintiffs will finally have their day in court. We are confident that a jury reviewing the facts of this case will be horrified. We expect a huge verdict on their behalf."

Plaintiffs are represented by Paul Hoffman of Schonbrun, DeSimone, Seplow, Harris and Hoffman; Anne Richardson and Dan Stormer of Hadsell & Stormer, Judith Brown Chomsky, Jennie Green of the Center for Constitutional Rights and EarthRights International.

Additional information on the case can be found at www.earthrights.org.

Katie Redford, Esq. EarthRights International 1612 K Street NW Suite 401 Washington, DC 20006 tel: 202 466 5188 fax: 202 466 5189 www.earthrights.org

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