Torture verdict against Carranza upheld

A federal appellate court in the US today upheld the civil judgment against Nicolas Carranza. In 2005, a jury in Memphis found that Carranza failed to stop crimes against humanity when he was a top commander of El Salvador's security forces. He was held responsible in civil claims by four Salvadoran victims who said they were tortured or that their family members were killed by soldiers under Carranza's command. The appeals court's opinion rejects arguments Carranza made based on the statute of limitations, the Salvadoran amnesty law, and various evidentiary rulings.

The decision continues the impressive string of favorable court rulings achieved by the San Francisco-based Center for Justice and Accountability which is also involved in bringing the case of the Jesuits into the courts in Spain.