Exxon Mobil has settled a long-running human rights lawsuit with villagers, who claimed soldiers that Exxon hired to guard a natural gas facility in Indonesia committed murder and torture.
WARNING: This story contains details some readers may find distressing.
The two sides said in a Washington DC federal court filing that they had resolved the 2001 case.
Agnieszka Fryszman — a lawyer for the Indonesian villagers at law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll — said the terms were confidential.
A spokesperson for Exxon Mobil said the settlement "brings closure for all parties".
The BBC reported that the Indonesian villagers had alleged they were subjected to torture, sexual assault, beatings as well as watching their loved ones being shot by Indonesian soldiers contracted by Exxon Mobil.
Exxon's case was set for a jury trial in Washington, starting May 24, to decide whether the company was negligent in contracting with Indonesian soldiers to guard its operations in the country's Aceh territory during a period of violence and unrest.
The lawsuit also sought to hold Exxon accountable for alleged atrocities committed by the soldiers.
Ms Fryszman said the plaintiffs — 11 villagers who were not named in court filings — broke down in tears at news of the settlement.
"They've been fighting this case for 20 years, against one of the world's most-powerful corporations," Ms Fryszman said.
A statement on Cohen Milstein's website said four plaintiffs and several witnesses had died since the process began in 2001.
One of the plaintiffs alleged she was assaulted "when she was eight months' pregnant by a soldier who, among other things 'forced her to jump up and down repeatedly'," the statement said.
Another woman alleged her husband was shot while working in a rice paddy in 2001by Exxon Mobil's security personnel.
One man disappeared for several days in January 2001.
"When he arrived home, [he] was wearing only his underwear, his hand had been cut off, and he was missing an eye," according to court testimony.
Exxon had argued in court filings that there were insufficient links between the company and any wrongdoing committed by Indonesian soldiers, an argument that US District Judge Royce Lamberth largely rejected last year.
The lawsuit led to the abrupt 2021 resignation of Alex Oh as the US Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement director, after a US judge raised concerns about Ms Oh's conduct while representing Exxon at law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.
Judge Lamberth last year ordered Exxon to pay about $US289,000 ($431,000) in sanctions after finding that Ms Oh, while a partner at Paul Weiss, improperly accused opposing counsel of acting "unhinged" during a deposition.
Ms Oh — who did not return to the law firm after her SEC resignation — did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters/ABC
