[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 21, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10891-S10892]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FAIRCLOTH (for himself and Mr. Moynihan):
  S. 1302. A bill to permit certain claims against foreign states to be 
heard in United States courts where the foreign state is a state 
sponsor of international terrorism or where no extradition treaty with 
the state existed at the time the claim arose and where no other 
adequate and available remedies exist; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.


    the foreign sovereign immunity technical corrections act of 1997

  Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill 
cosponsored by my esteemed colleague, Senator Moynihan. This bill will 
close a loophole in the law and provide a safeguard for American 
citizens overseas. Last year, Congress amended the Foreign Sovereign 
Immunities Act to provide a remedy in U.S. courts to American citizens 
who are victims of acts of torture and terrorism perpetrated by 
terrorist nations.

  The bill I am introducing today would broaden these antiterrorism 
provisions and send a forceful message to other foreign despots around 
the world that the United States will not tolerate the abuse of human 
rights of its citizens.
  Last year's legislation took an important step to deal with the 
criminal act of terrorism and related human rights protections, 
however, because it targeted only those countries on the State 
Department's terrorist list, there is no available remedy for Americans 
under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act when governments of 
countries not on the torture list brutalize U.S. citizens.
  Granted, only a few renegade countries not on the terrorist list 
systematically engage in torture. But our legislation will put these 
tyrants on notice that the United States will not let a legal 
technicality stand in the way of an American citizen bringing suit in 
the United States against his or her tormentor. These ruthless acts 
shall be judged by a court of law and, ultimately, by the opinions of 
mankind.
  Mr. President, I urge Congress to close this loophole. To some it may 
seem like a small detail and the circumstances for such an incident may 
seem improbable, but I have first hand knowledge of two incidents of 
systematic torture, one of which involved a constituent from North 
Carolina living outside the protection of U.S. borders.
  Mr. Scott Nelson was working in Saudi Arabia in 1984 as a systems 
engineer at King Faisal Specialist Hospital. In the course of his 
inspection duties, Mr. Nelson discovered a severe health hazard 
involving the valves that delivered oxygen during various medical 
procedures. He immediately reported the irregularities to his 
supervisors,

[[Page S10892]]

and recommended corrective action be taken.
  To his surprise, Mr. Nelson found his warnings blatantly ignored. 
After taking this to the highest managerial level of the hospital, he 
was summoned to a hospital office, arrested, imprisoned, and ultimately 
interrogated. When he arrived in the interrogation room, Saudi 
officials shackled Mr. Nelson and ultimately tortured him, causing 
lifelong disabilities.
  Mr Nelson was thrown into a rat infested cell where he was denied 
food, water, and sleep for days. At some point, Mr. Nelson was 
presented a document in Arabic and ordered to sign it. Under a Saudi 
threat to arrest Mr. Nelson's wife and child, he signed the document.
  At no time during his 39-day detention was Scott Nelson informed of 
any charges or given the due process right of having his situation 
brought before a court or tribunal.
  After 39 days of this most horrible experience, Mr. Nelson was 
released. He immediately returned to the United States in grave need of 
medical treatment and surgery to his left knee. Since that time, he has 
had five additional surgical procedures.
  Additionally, Mr. Nelson has been diagnosed with diffuse nerve injury 
and posttraumatic stress disorder with symptoms rated as catastrophic. 
Eight physicians and psychologists who have examined Scott are 
unanimous in their judgment that the severe physical and psychological 
injuries from which he suffers are entirely consistent with his 
allegations of torture.
  Mr. President, had this torture taken place in Iraq, Libya, North 
Korea, or any of the nations the State Department has designated as 
``terrorist'' states, he would be entitled to seek damages in a United 
States court. Because Saudi Arabia, like so many other countries, is 
not officially considered a terrorist nation by our State Department, 
there is no remedy for American citizens to seek legal redress for 
injuries resulting from torture.
  Mr. President, Scott Nelson has suffered enough. It is time for his 
government to provide him with a vehicle for relief. The legislation I 
present today is a simple and indisputable proposition: The United 
States shall not tolerate any country in the world to violate the basic 
rights of her citizens. I believe this is legislation that everyone in 
this body can support without hesitation.
  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, today I rise as an original sponsor of 
the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Technical Corrections Act of 1997. This 
legislation will extend a provision signed into law as part of the 
Anti-Terrorism Act (Pub. L. 104-132) allowing individuals who are 
victims of terrorism and other violations of international law to file 
suit for damages in United States court.
  The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, enacted in 1976, recognizes 
that except in the most egregious cases, foreign states are immune from 
suit by a citizen of the United States. The bill Senator Faircloth and 
I are introducing today establishes the principle that terrorism, 
extrajudicial killing, and other gross abuses of human rights are not 
protected acts of state and are not entitled to sovereign immunity. 
While the Anti-Terrorism Act expanded the Foreign Sovereign Immunities 
Act to allow for suits against countries designated by the Department 
of State as a sponsor of terrorism, this bill would expand the list of 
states to include countries which do not have an extradition treaty 
with the United States, or which do not have an adequate available 
judicial remedy. This provision recognizes that while foreign states 
enjoy immunity from most legal action by individuals, there are certain 
fundamental principles of international law that cannot be violated 
with impunity.
  Two examples of citizens who would gain legal standing by this 
legislation are James Smrkovski and Scott Nelson, Americans who were 
tortured by agents of their foreign state employer, a nation not on the 
list of terrorist states. They survived harrowing experiences only to 
be barred by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act from even attempting 
to obtain redress. When the United States Supreme Court said that the 
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act did not permit Mr. Nelson any legal 
recourse, it made clear that a remedy must come from Congress.
  And so, Mr. President, the Senator from North Carolina [Mr. 
Faircloth] and I are introducing this measure so that Americans who 
have been victims of terrible crimes perpetrated by foreign governments 
have legal recourse. I urge my colleagues to support and cosponsor the 
bill, and I hope it can be adopted without undue delay.
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