U.S. Jury Awards $766 Million to Marcos’ Victims
More than 9,000 victims of torture under the regime of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos were awarded $766 million Wednesday by a U.S. District Court jury.
Now lawyers for the 9,070 plaintiffs in the class-action suit must begin the daunting task of trying to collect the money from the Marcos estate over opposition from the current Philippine government.
“I hope this sends a message to other dictators who abuse their citizens,” said lawyer Sherry Broder, who represented the plaintiffs.
In 1993, the same jury found the Marcos estate liable for the torture, summary execution and disappearance of thousands of Filipinos under Marcos’ rule between 1972 and 1986.
Marcos and his family fled the Philippines in 1986, and he died three years later while in exile in Hawaii. The lawsuit was filed in 1986.
Bill Johnson, lawyer for the Marcos estate, said he will appeal.
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