ExxonMobil Resolves Long-Standing Indonesia Torture Case Through Settlement

Oil giant ExxonMobil has reached a settlement in an extended legal dispute with villagers who alleged human rights abuses, including murder and torture, committed by soldiers hired to guard a natural gas facility in Indonesia’s Aceh province.

The joint filing on Monday confirmed that both parties agreed to resolve “all matters,” with the specific terms of the settlement remaining confidential, as stated by Agnieszka Fryszman, the lawyer representing the villagers.

ExxonMobil’s spokesperson stated that the settlement brings closure for all involved parties. The case, initiated in 2001 by 11 Aceh villagers, accused Indonesian soldiers hired by ExxonMobil to guard an oil and gas plant in Lhoksukon city between 1999 and 2003 of human rights abuses, including sexual assault, battery, and unlawful detention.

Originally scheduled to commence on May 24 in Washington, DC, the trial aimed to determine whether the company was negligent in contracting the Indonesian soldiers. ExxonMobil consistently denied awareness of human rights violations and asserted that it could not be held accountable for any abuses, as it neither ordered nor authorized them.

The alleged abuses occurred during a period when the Indonesian military deployed thousands of troops to suppress a pro-independence rebellion in the province. A peace agreement was eventually reached following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which claimed at least 170,000 lives in Aceh.

Agnieszka Fryszman, a lawyer at Cohen Milstein, praised the anonymous plaintiffs, who faced threats, for their resilience throughout the more than 20-year legal battle. ExxonMobil, condemning human rights violations, expressed that it disapproves of the actions asserted in the case against the Indonesian military.

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