That
was nearly five years ago. On Saturday, the attorney of the law firm
that filed a case against the American company for  alleged involvement
in the trafficking of 12 Nepalis said he was optimistic about victory.
The former Peace Corps volunteer Mathew Handley, who is the lead
attorney of Cohen Milstein law firm, said he is “hopeful” the court
will give a verdict in favour of the Nepalis killed by Iraqi
insurgents.

The
lawsuit against Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) and its subcontractors
was originally filed in California in August. The company and its
subcontractors were accused of human trafficking that forced the 12
Nepalis to go to Iraq for work against their will.  “The defendant,
KBR, which has its headquarters in Texas, has transferred the case to
Houston, Texas,” said Handley. “It is still pending and we are hopeful
that we will win the case.”

“Despite
lack of adequate resources, we, with our team, are all set to give our
best chance to win the case,” he said at a programme organised by
Washington-Nepal Forum in Washington, DC.

Last
year, the law firm tasted partial success when the US Administrative
Law Court for the Department of Labor ordered monthly compensation to
the families of nine of the 12 victims.

The
court, in its verdict, had ordered monthly compensation of US$ 230 to
250 to each spouse and set of parents of the slain workers with
additional US$75 for orphaned children. The other part of the complaint
filed at the court is against human trafficking under the US
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA). 

Since
recovery under DBA requires no allegation of human trafficking or
wrongdoing, Handley said, “The combined approach of both DBA and TVPA
would be the best means to compensate the individuals for both
work-related and trafficking-related injuries.”

According
to him, the hearing in Texas court is expected to begin in a couple of
months. An Islamist group, the Army of Ansar al-Sunna, took the Nepali
workers hostage before brutally killing them on Aug. 20, 2004.