I have some excellent news. A US court actually did something this week to help me and the Indigenous peoples Chevron poisoned in Ecuador.
It’s been a long time since I could say that.
The last time was in 2011 when a federal appeals court overturned Judge Kaplan’s preposterous attempt to issue a global injunction purporting to block all judges in any country in the world from enforcing the $9.5 billion Ecuador judgment against Chevron.
As many of you know, that order from a US trial judge trying to tell all judges in all countries what they could do was so crazy that it was easy to reverse. I am now on more difficult terrain. But there is major daylight ahead and I need your help to reach it.
The US Supreme Court on Monday ordered President Biden’s Department of Justice to explain why it let a private oil company (Chevron) prosecute and detain me after winning a historic pollution case against the company on behalf of Amazon Indigenous communities in Ecuador. The Supreme Court issued the order after the DOJ ignored my petition to reverse my misdemeanor contempt conviction that led to almost three years of detention.
Why is this important? Because it proves that even our highly conservative Supreme Court seems offended by the idea of a private corporate prosecution of a human rights lawyer in the United States of America. It suggests the court is willing to do something about it. And it proves that our campaign to stop direct corporate detentions of climate activists is working.
But here’s the rub: last week we missed our critical goal of raising $100,000 by mid-October to fund my ongoing appeal to the Supreme Court and to continue the global advocacy campaign necessary to stop corporate prosecutions and enforce the pollution judgment against Chevron. I am reaching out again to tell you we have extended the deadline to midnight on October 27.
That day is significant because it is the one-year anniversary of the day I reported to prison. Chevron and Judges Kaplan and Preska tried to lock me away in a federal prison for six months – the culmination of their strategy to attack and destroy the Ecuador pollution case so Chevron would not have to pay the $9.5 billion judgment owed to Indigenous peoples.
Will you contribute $10, $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000, or $2500 or more right now? If you are able and willing to give, if you can make your contribution recurring it will allow our funding to be more sustainable.
This month last year was an extremely tough time for me and my family. I had to hug my wife and son goodbye with virtually no notice that I was being locked up. I was unsure when or if I would see them again – all because I dared to stand up to Chevron for its monstrous dumping of oil waste in the Amazon. The fact we won the environmental case drove Chevron crazy and prompted the company to use 60 law firms and 2,000 lawyers to try to destroy me.
That strategy did not work. I am still here and as strong as ever, but I need help to keep going so we can finish the job.
Please understand that Chevron manipulated the legal system against me in a way never before seen in US history. Before my case, no lawyer in the United States ever had served time in prison for the crime of misdemeanor contempt. Yet Chevron weaponized the legal system against me and made me the first by steering the case to a Chevron-linked judge who denied me a jury.
I was detained for 993 days total when the longest prior sentence for my sentence was 90 days of home confinement. A United Nations panel ruled my detention was arbitrary and illegal and ordered the US government to pay me compensation.
I am still dealing with the aftermath of this wrongful conviction. I cannot travel outside of the United States because Chevron has my passport. I cannot visit the Indigenous peoples of Ecuador who are still suffering due to Chevron’s mass poisoning. And I am still unable to practice law after Chevron and Judge Kaplan had my license taken away.
Again, we have extended our deadline to raise $100,000 to October 27 – the one-year anniversary of when I went to prison. Will you help us reach this critical goal so we can continue to fund our appeal to the Supreme Court and bring justice to the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon? Please contribute $10, $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000, $2500 or more today.
Whatever amount you can give – even if $1 – will be greatly appreciated. And if you cannot or choose not to give, please sign up with your email so you can receive regular case updates and pass this on to anybody who you think might be interested.
We are gaining momentum in this critical fight. Together, we can end Chevron’s decades-long retaliation campaign against me and the people of Ecuador and bring justice to the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon. Please contribute what you can and spread the word.
Forward,
Steven Donziger |
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