30 January 2013: Court Verdict Expected on Shell's Nigerian Oil Pollution

Jan 26th, 2013

by John Donovan.

At 10 am on 30 January, the court in The Hague will rule on the case of Milieudefensie and four Nigerian farmers versus Shell. The public sitting in this case took place on 11 October last year. The court case is unique because it is the first time that a Dutch multinational has been brought before the court in its home country for environmental damage caused abroad. The case focuses on just three of the thousands of oil leaks in Nigeria. In the case, Milieudefensie demands that Shell cleans up the oil pollution in the villages, compensates the farmers for the damages suffered and maintains the oil pipelines better in the future.

Interview requests

In connection with the anticipated media interest following the 30 January verdict, we ask that media requests for interviews with one of the spokespeople listed below be made in advance to Milieudefensie's press office.

Spokespeople

Eric Dooh, one of the Nigerian plaintiffs, is in The Hague and will be available to the media on behalf of the plaintiffs. Geert Ritsema and Evert Hassink, of Milieudefensie's International team, will be available to the media on behalf of Milieudefensie. Milieudefensie's lawyer, Channa Samkalden of Böhler Advocaten, will be available for questions on the legal aspects of the case.

Web and Social Media
Please tweet using  #Shellincourt. The court will give its verdict in Dutch. Milieudefensie has asked the court to provide an English translation of the verdict. We will put it on www.milieudefensie.nl as soon as possible.

Images

Last week, photographer Marten Van Dijl took photos of the plaintiffs and the pollution in the villages in Nigeria. Portraits of the plaintiffs are also available; these were taken in October 2012 by Piere Crom during the court session in The Hague.

All images can be accessed viawww.milieudefensie.nl/publicaties/fotoalbum/fotoalbum-internationaal/shell-rechtszaak/ and are copyright-free (with photo credit).

best wishes, Evert Hassink

See the story on worsethanbad.org !

Milieudefensie, Friends of the Earth Netherlands

International Corporate Responsibility campaign

office: Mo-Tue-We-Friday, phone             +31 (0)20 5507 391      

or mobile             +31 (0)6 51080994      

skype: everthassink

www.milieudefensie.nl

THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS, OCTOBER 11, 2012 — For the first time in history, a Dutch court verdict is expected about the case of a European company, Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell, which appeared in court today to account for damage it caused abroad, says Friends of the Earth International. [1]

Lawyers for both parties pleaded at a key hearing in The Hague today and the court announced that the verdict is expected on 30 January 2013.

The court case against Shell's oil spills in Nigeria has been filed by four Nigerian plaintiffs in conjunction with Friends of the Earth Netherlands and supported by Friends of the Earth Nigeria.

"A positive verdict will have groundbreaking legal repercussions. It will allow victims of multinational corporations in developing countries to obtain justice in Europe," says Geert Ritsema, globalisation campaign leader at Friends of the Earth Netherlands / Milieudefensie.

"Due to the poor maintenance of its pipelines and infrastructure Shell lets tens of millions of barrels of oil leak in Nigeria, with disastrous consequences for local people and the environment. We hope for a positive verdict. We hope that Shell will own up to its glaring pollution. We hope that justice will be done for the four Nigerians who sued Shell in The Netherlands," says Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth Nigeria and Chair of Friends of the Earth International.

In May 2008, four Nigerian fishermen and farmers [2] from the villages of Goi, Ikot Ada Udo and Oruma, in conjunction with Friends of the Earth Netherlands / Milieudefensie and supported by Friends of the Earth Nigeria / ERA, started a legal case against Shell Nigeria and its parent company in the Netherlands. [3]

"Shell polluted with impunity and destroyed our livelihoods. Several years after the spills we still see and smell the oil and in some communities half of the population has respiratory diseases. Shell must now clean up properly and prevent more oil spills from happening. Justice has to be done here in The Netherlands and Shell must be held to account," says one of the four plaintiffs, Eric Dooh from Goi, Ogoniland, Nigeria.

The serious contamination of the oil rich Niger Delta has had disastrous consequences for the local people and their environment. Oil leaks regularly pollute the fields, forests and water. These leaks are a heavy burden on agriculture and fishing.

Shell is the operator of Nigeria's largest oil fields and bears significant responsibility for the oil pollution. The UN, among others, has stated that Shell does not comply with legal environmental standards and has failed to clean up leaked oil – or has done so only insufficiently, for decades. Moreover, Shell's own sustainability report stated that the number of leaks due to poor maintenance doubled in 2011, rising from 32 to 64.

NOTES TO EDITORS

[1] PHOTOS OF THE OIL SPILLS, as well as legal documents and fact sheets about the legal proceedings are available at : 
http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell/oil-leaks/courtcase/press and 
http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell/oil-leaks/courtcase/press/documents/documents-on-the-shell-legal-case

[2] BIOS, PORTRAITS AND STORIES OF THE PLAINTIFFS are available at : http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell/oil-leaks/courtcase/plaintiffs 
http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell/oil-leaks/courtcase/press/documents/documents-on-the-shell-legal-case

[3] A TIMELINE OF THE COURT CASE is available at :http://www.milieudefensie.nl/publicaties/factsheets/timeline-courtcase-shell

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Friends of the Earth Netherlands / Milieudefensie press office: Tel:            + 31 – 20 – 5507 333       or e-mail  persvoorlichting (at) milieudefensie.nl 

Posted in: Africa, Corporate Governance, Environment, GoogleNews, Human Rights,Litigation, Nigeria, Ogoniland, Oil, Oil Spill, Pollution, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Toxic contamination.
Tagged: Niger Delta · Nigeria · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

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