Article
Court Rejects Military Contractor's Attempt to Avoid Trial for Human Trafficking
A federal court in Texas struck a blow last week to contractor KBR's attempt to thwart efforts to hold it accountable for labor trafficking in Iraq. After a review of the evidence, the court ordered that a case charging the former Halliburton subsidiary with human trafficking and forced labor proceed to trial…KBR sought the dismissal of the case, arguing that the 12 Nepali men had not been subjected to labor trafficking and that regardless, it is shielded from liability under the TVPA [Trafficking Victims Protection Act]. The judge rejected this argument…The case can now proceed to trial, bringing the families of the 11 victims, along with the one survivor, an important step closer to holding their traffickers accountable…