Hostage taking

Pages82-84
82 Volume 21, July–September 2015 international law update
© 2015 International Law Group, LLC. All rights reserved. ISSN 1089-5450, ISSN 1943-1287 (on-line) | www.internationallawupdate.com
judgments. See Turner, 303 F.3d at 330. DeJoria
has not met this burden. Based on the evidence
in the record, we cannot agree that the Moroccan
judicial system lacks sucient independence such
that fair litigation in Morocco is impossible. e
due process requirement is not ‘intended to bar
the enforcement of all judgments of any foreign
legal system that does not conform its procedural
doctrines to the latest twist and turn of our courts.’
Ashenden, 233 F.3d at 476. […]”
e Court then compares the Moroccan
judicial system with the judicial systems of foreign
countries that have failed to meet due process
standards, taking as example the Ninght Circuit
decision in Bank Melli Iran v. Pahlavi, . 58 F.3d
1406, 1411-13 (9th Cir. 1995) and Second Circuit’s
decision in Bridgeway Corp. v. Citibank, 201 F.3d
134, 144 (2d Cir. 2000).
“Pahlavi and Bridgeway … exemplify how a
foreign judicial system can be so fundamentally
awed as to oend basic notions of fairness.
Unlike the Iranian system in Pahlavi, there is
simply no indication that it would be impossible
for an American to receive due process or impartial
tribunals in Morocco. In further contrast with
Pahlavi, there is no record evidence of a demonstrable
anti-American sentiment in Morocco; in fact,
American law rms do business in Morocco. While
the judgment debtor in Pahlavi could not have
retained representation in Iran, Skidmore—a
codefendant in the Moroccan case—did briey
retain Moroccan attorney Azzedine Kettani until
a conict of interest forced his withdrawal. One
expert opined that it is ‘not at all uncommon’ for
Moroccan attorneys to represent unpopular gures
in Moroccan courts. Bridgeway presents an even
more stark contrast. Morocco’s judicial system is
not in a state of complete collapse, and there is no
evidence that Moroccan courts or the Moroccan
government routinely disregard constitutional
provisions or the rule of law. Because Morocco’s
judicial system is not in such a dire situation, it does
not present the unusual case of a foreign judicial
system that ‘oend[s] against basic fairness.’ Turner,
303 F.3d at 330 (internal quotations omitted).”
“e Texas Recognition Act’s due process
standard requires only that the foreign proceedings
be fundamentally fair and inoensive to ‘basic
fairness.’ Presley, 370 S.W.3d at 434. is standard
sets a high bar for non-recognition. e Moroccan
judicial system does not present an exceptional case
of ‘serious injustice’ that renders the entire system
fundamentally unfair and incompatible with due
process. e district court thus erred in concluding
that non-recognition was justied under Section
36.005(a)(1) of the Texas Recognition Act.”
e Court held that the district court erred in
concluding that non-recognition was justied under
Section 36.005(a)(1) of the Texas Recognition Act,
and reversed the district court decision.
citation: DeJoria v. Maghreb Petroleum Exploration,
SA, 804 F.3d 373 (5th Cir. 2015).
HOSTAGE TAKING
After hostage takers who abducted
U.S. citizen in the Republic of Trinidad
and Tobago where extradited to U.S.,
District of Columbia Circuit ponders
whether Hostage Taking Act applies in
cases where the alleged victim obtained
U.S. citizenship by fraud
Defendants Wayne Pierre, Ricardo De Four,
Zion Clarke, Kevon Demerieux, Kevin Nixon,
Christopher Sealey, and Anderson Straker,
nationals of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago,
throughout the years abducted wealthy individuals,
held them captive, and extorted ransoms from their
family and friends.
On April 6, 2005, they abducted a Trinidad-
native and a United States citizen Balram Maharaj,
who visited his children in Trinidad. e defendants
delivered Maharaj to an isolated camp deep within
the forest where they tied him to a post and gave
him little food and water. Maharaj suered from
severe diabetes, hypertension and tuberculosis. e
defendants ignored his pleas for medication and
used his worsening health as leverage to demand
three million Trinidadian dollars from his family.
After six days in captivity, missing the medication,

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