[Oct 1, 2021: New York] Human rights lawyer Steven Donziger, who fought Chevron oil and won a $9.5 billion judgement in Ecuador for the poisoning of indigenous lands, was sentenced to six months in prison today for contempt of court. For the first time in US history in such a case, he was prosecuted not by the US Justice Department, but by a private attorney who worked for Chevron.
He received the maximum sentence for the Class B misdemeanor. Judge Preska, who presided over the case, said she was giving him “the proverbial 2 X 4 between the eyes.”
Donziger was denied bail pending appeal, but will continue under the terms of his pre-trial release. Wearing an ankle bracelet at all times, Donziger has been under house arrest for the past 787 days.
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Greg Palast (Rolling Stone, Guardian, BBC) is the author of The New York Times bestsellers, Armed Madhouse, Billionaires & Ballot Bandits and the book and documentary, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.
His latest film is All Washed Away: The Untold Story of the Drowning of New Orleans and Texas. Palast is currently working on a new documentary Long Knife, exposing the Koch Brothers' theft of Osage oil, to be released in 2025.
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