Human Rights Lawsuits

Human rights are considered our most fundamental rights and are agreed upon at an international level. These rights prohibit violations such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and terrorism financing.

On December 10, 1948, The United Nations General Assembly established The Universal Declaration of Human Rights to apply to all people and all nations. Some of the rights included in this declaration are the right to life, freedom from slavery, torture and cruel treatment, freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial.

Human and legal rights are inherently connected but don’t have the same meaning. Legal rights are upheld by the laws within a certain area. Human rights apply to everyone regardless of their country of residence. Plaintiffs have every right to pursue justice for any violation they experienced.

A human rights violation is when someone’s basic human rights are violated or abused. This can lead to lawsuits to help plaintiffs hold the violators accountable for illegal actions. Pursuing these human rights cases may also enact positive changes on a larger scale as well.

Our human rights attorneys have fought for, and continue to fight for victims of:

• Human enslavement
• Human trafficking
• Torture
• Wrongful death
• Wrongful imprisonment

Our attorneys have litigated several different types of human rights violations.

Wrongful imprisonment

Wrongful imprisonment is when someone is put in prison for the wrong reasons. This type of imprisonment can happen because of procedural errors during the legal process or if the imprisoned person is shown to be not guilty of the supposed crime.

Wrongful death can also happen during wrongful imprisonment. This is when people are abused and neglected severely enough to lead to their death. The victim’s loved ones have a right to pursue legal action against the institution involved in their wrongful death.

Motley Rice attorneys represented Matthew Heath and Osman Khan in a lawsuit against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and 16 other defendants. The plaintiffs are suing for wrongful imprisonment, kidnapping, captivity, interrogation, torture and defamation. The United States government found both Heath and Khan’s arrests and detention in a Venezuelan military prison were wrongful and based on false charges.

Torture

Torture can happen alongside other human rights violations. This violation is serious and life-threatening. Survivors, or families of victims of this violation may be eligible to pursue legal action to hold the defendants accountable.

Motley Rice has supported the advocacy efforts of The Center for Victims of Torture, whose mission is to work towards eliminating torture worldwide. This organization also dedicates resources to educating others on the negative effects of torture and war trauma and providing support to victims of torture.

Motley Rice attorneys represented a contractor who was interrogated, tortured and imprisoned while on a contracting job in Libya in 2011. Captive for six months, the plaintiff endured countless types of torture and was also denied food and medical treatment. Our attorneys helped the plaintiff file a complaint against his captors for the many human rights violations he experienced.

Kidnapping, hostage-taking and abduction

Kidnapping, hostage-taking and abduction are all under a similar human rights violation. Like other violations, these can unfortunately happen alongside others, such as trafficking and torture.

Motley Rice human rights attorneys filed a federal civil complaint in 2005 against several leaders in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for their alleged involvement in kidnapping, human trafficking and child enslavement of young boys for use as camel jockeys. These children were often reportedly starved to make them lighter, and were abused both physically and sexually while living and working under harsh conditions.

The UAE reportedly banned the use of children as camel jockeys in 2005 and began a two-part program with UNICEF to return these children to their home countries and to compensate them for their injuries.

Trafficking

Trafficking, whether it be labor or human, is another shameful human right violation that occurs. This type of modern slavery (also known as “trafficking in persons”) is not limited to foreign countries, either, as human trafficking continues to be reported in the U.S. Our team of attorneys continues to fight to end this appalling practice by advocating for victims in various human trafficking lawsuits.

Motley Rice, alongside U.K. law firm Leigh Day, are representing a woman who previously worked for the U.K. luxury department store, Harrods. Her claims allege trafficking, abuse and exploitation while employed by the store. It is also believed that there are many other survivors with similar claims. Motley Rice is continuing to review potential legal claims against Harrods and to pursue justice for all individuals who were affected by these human rights violations.

Corporate complicity

Corporate complicity is when a corporation knowingly aids human rights violations by others. Complicity is often split up into three different categories:

• Direct: This is when a company knowingly violates human rights.
• Indirect: Also referred to as beneficial complicity. This is when a company benefits from human rights violations performed by someone else.
• Silent: This is when a corporation fails to report human rights violations they are aware of, even if they aren’t the ones committing the abuse.

As with many human rights abuses and violations, corporate complicity can also happen alongside wrongful imprisonment, kidnapping, trafficking and many others.

One of the first steps to filing a human rights lawsuit is to connect with an experienced human rights lawyer who can help navigate your specific case. A human rights lawyer can:

• Help you gather the evidence you need to prove the human rights violation you experienced
• File a lawsuit on behalf of you or a loved one
• Represent your interests throughout the legal process

Am I eligible to file a human rights lawsuit?

If you have experienced a human rights violation, you may be eligible to pursue a human rights lawsuit. Discussing your case with a human rights attorney can help you figure out your eligibility and how to move forward with a lawsuit if you feel comfortable doing so.

What’s considered a human rights violation?

A human rights violation is when someone’s fundamental human rights have been violated in some way. There are many different types of violations, including but not limited to wrongful imprisonment, torture, kidnapping, hostage-taking, abduction, trafficking and corporate complicity.

What do human rights lawyers do?

Human rights lawyers will help support individuals who have experienced human rights violations. They will fight for these individuals (or their families) throughout the legal system to seek justice for victims and survivors of human rights violations.

Motley Rice has a wide range of experience representing victims of human rights violations, including people impacted by kidnapping and hostage-taking. Our attorneys are currently representing U.S. victims and their family members to seek justice for deaths and injuries they sustained from the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023.

In addition, Motley Rice has helped victims of:

• Boy Scouts sexual abuse
• Conflict minerals forced labor
• 9/11 terrorist attacks

Connect with our human rights attorneys today.