Justices turn away appeal in Somali torture case

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court won’t hear an appeal in the case of a Somali farmer who alleges he was tortured by a former Somali military officer now living in Virginia.

The justices on Monday left in place an appeals court ruling that said part of Farhan Warfaa’s lawsuit against Yusuf Abdi Ali could move forward.

Warfaa claims Ali tortured him for three months in 1987 and 1988 before shooting him and leaving him for dead. Ali settled in northern Virginia in 1992.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the lawsuit to proceed under the Torture Victim Protection Act. But it dismissed another claim under the Alien Tort Statute.

Both men appealed. Ali said he was immune from the lawsuit for acts performed on behalf of a foreign nation.