Jailed Chinese dissidents have settled a lawsuit they filed earlier this year
against Yahoo Inc. in which they alleged the Internet company should be held
accountable for their imprisonment and torture.
The settlement comes after Yahoo executives last week went to Capitol Hill
to apologize to family members of the dissidents and to get a tongue-lashing
by lawmakers for the company's role in the jailings.
On Tuesday, the company and the plaintiffs settled, ending the lawsuit that
was filed in April in U.S. District Court for the California Northern District.
In their joint stipulation filed with the court, the parties said they had
agreed to dismiss with prejudice all claims "based on a private settlement
understanding." In addition, Yahoo agreed to cover the plaintiffs' legal
costs.
The document doesn't contain any other details about the settlement agreement.
Neither Yahoo nor the World Organization for Human Rights USA, which is based
in Washington, D.C., and represents the plaintiffs, immediately responded to
requests for comment.
In late August, Yahoo requested that the court dismiss the case, with its chief
argument being that the U.S. justice system was the wrong venue for the case.
"This is a lawsuit by citizens of China imprisoned for using the Internet
in China to express political views in violation of China law. It is a political
case challenging the laws and actions of the Chinese government. It has no place
in the American courts," the 51-page filing read.
After stating that Yahoo "deeply sympathizes with the plaintiffs and their
families and does not condone the suppression of their rights and liberty by
their government," the company stated that it and its Chinese subsidiaries
must comply with the laws of China.
The plaintiffs had argued in their lawsuit that Yahoo and Yahoo Hong Kong Ltd.
violated a series of U.S. and international laws by providing information to
the Chinese government that led to the arrest and torture of journalists Wang
Xiaoning and Shi Tao.
The plaintiffs sought, among other things, awards of a variety of damages;
declaration that the defendants violated international law; a requirement that
the defendants actively help to secure the release of detained plaintiffs; and
an injunction barring the defendants from "any further disclosures of user
information" to prevent future abuses.
Last week, Representative Tom Lantos, a California Democrat and chairman of
the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, ripped into Yahoo CEO
Jerry Yang over Yahoo's role in the case.
During the hearing, Lantos also blasted Yahoo General Counsel Michael Callahan
for testimony Callahan gave last year to Congress about the jailing of the dissidents.
