Doe, et al. v. Lt. General Johny Lumintang
CJA, together with the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, filed this case in March 2000 on behalf of six East Timorese victims of abuses committed by the Indonesian military during the violent aftermath of the September 1999 independence referendum. The complaint alleges that Johny Lumintang, now Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense, was one of the military leaders responsible for widespread and systematic human rights abuses committed by Indonesian troops and militia related to the independence vote.

General Lumintang was served while visiting Washington DC for meetings. He failed to make an appearance in the case and, accordingly, last November, District Judge Gladys Kessler found him to be in default and entered judgment against him. A hearing on the issue of the amount of damages was held March 27-29, 2001. Plaintiffs' sobering testimony included that of a young man whose foot was amputated after he had been shot by Indonesian soldiers who had detained and beaten him, and of the surviving family members of two men tortured and murdered by soldiers.

Other witnesses testified concerning the background of the Indonesian Army’s abuses in East Timor, Lumintang’s role in the Army command structure and in authorizing post-referendum abuses, and the systematic nature of the post-referendum mayhem committed by the Indonesian military.

CJA is pleased to announce that on September 10, 2001 the defendant, Johny Lumintang, was found to have caused plaintiffs' suffering through use of torture, wrongful death, summary execution, assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Plaintiffs were awarded damages approximating $10 million each.

On March 25, 2002 Lumintang filed a motion to vacate the judgment. The plaintiffs filed an opposition to the motion to vacate. The magistrate judge issued a Report & Recommendation on March 3, 2004, recommending that Lumintang's motion to vacate the judgment be denied. However, on November 9, 2004, District Judge Gladys Kessler rejected the magistrate's recommendation and granted Lumintang's motion to vacate the default judgment. She found that service of the complaint and summons on Lumintang at Dulles Airport in Fairfax, Virginia, did not give the district court in the District of Columbia jurisdiction over Lumintang. Judge Kessler concluded, "The events in East Timor were a terrible tragedy. It is with great regret that the Court concludes that basic principles of United States jurisprudence compel the conclusion that the Report and Recommendation denying Defendant's Motion to Set Aside Default Judgment and Order and Judgment on Damages must be overruled and that Defendant's Motion must grated [sic]." The plaintiffs are now considering their options.

Steven Schneebaum of Greenberg Traurig and Brian Hendrix of Patton Boggs are leading the litigation team, and the East Timor Action Network provided support to plaintiffs.