of Virginia rejected these claims, denying the motion to dismiss. It ruled that "under international and domestic law, officials from other countries are not entitled to foreign official immunity for jus cogens violations, even if the acts were performed in the defendant's official capacity." In August 2012, a U.S. federal court ruled that Samatar should pay $21 million to the plaintiffs, with each to receive $1 million and $2 million in compensatory and punitive damages, respectively. However, Samatar was not required to pay the damages until bankruptcy proceedings concluded. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit later upheld this decision in November 2012. This was despite the fact that US President Barack Obama's administration had urged the court not to hear the lawsuit. In March 2013, Abdi Farah Shirdon, Prime Minister in Somalia's newly recognized Federal Government, issued a letter to the U.S. Department of State requesting that Washington grant Samatar immunity from prosecution. Samatar was previously denied immunity mainly because there was at the time no strong central authority within Somalia to claim it on his behalf. According to Samatar's attorney, Joseph Peter Drenan, the gesture was an attempt on the Somali government's part to promote reconciliation. He added that the lawsuit was now likely to be dismissed, as the U.S. authorities were expected to honor the Somali administration's request. In March 2015, the US Supreme Court upheld the civil lawsuit against Samatar, dismissing his appeal. In 2012, a U.S. judge ultimately awarded $21 million to seven people who sued Samantar, claiming he had tortured and killed his own people. The judgment against Mohamed Ali Samantar came at the end of an eight-year legal battle that went to the U.S. Supreme Court. Death Samatar died in Virginia, United States, on 19 August 2016. He was buried in Mogadishu, Somalia. See also Siad Barre Hussein Kulmiye Afrah Abdullah Mohamed Fadil Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed Salaad Gabeyre Kediye Mohamed Ali Sharman Ismail Ali Abokor Muse Hassan Sheikh Sayid Abdulle Abdirizak Mohamud Abubakar Nur Cadow Yussuf Salhan Abdullahi Ahmed Irro Mohamed Farah Aidid Omar Haji Mohamed Aden Abdullahi Nur Gabeyow Mohamed Osman Irro Notes Mohamed Nur Galaal References (in Somali) 1931 births 2016 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Somalia Vice presidents of Somalia Prime Ministers of Somalia Defence Ministers of Somalia Somalian Muslims Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party politicians Frunze Military Academy alumni