Steven Donziger



Aug 29, 2024

EP 253 - Steven Donziger
We have an intense story on the Pretty Intense Podcast today. This is the tale of a human rights lawyer, taking on a corporate giant, Chevron. In 2011 Steven Donziger's won a human rights lawsuit in Ecuador against Chevron for the indigenous people of Ecuador that have been poisoned by the irresponsible waste of the massive oil company. Chevron pulled all assets out of Ecuador to avoid paying the awarded $9.5 billion in damages. Then, according to Donziger, Chevron's lawyers turned their attention to the lawyer most responsible for their problem, Steven Donziger. Steven tells us how Chevron threw everything they had at taking Donziger down, restoring fear of the big corporation on anyone who might try to challenge them. Donzinger was put on house arrest, denied a trial by jury, and eventually did time in prison, for a crime he tells us was invented to crush him, and any hopes from other liability cases that may come up due to their dirty waste policies in areas where people cannot defend themselves. This is a powerful story. His tireless work to hold Chevron accountable for environmental devastation in Ecuador is commendable. Stand with Donziger and demand justice for those affected by this environmental disaster! Don't miss this episode! If you feel you want to support Donziger, go to his website and sign the petition to Pardon Donziger. https://www.freedonziger.com/ 

 

 

Background:
Steven Donziger is an environmental justice and human rights lawyer who helped Amazon communities in Ecuador win the largest trial court judgment ever against a fossil fuel company. The case, Aguinda v. Chevron, resulted in a$9.5 billion judgment against Chevron affirmed unanimously by both Ecuador's Supreme Court and Canada's Supreme Court for enforcement purposes. Rather than pay the judgment in a court where it had accepted jurisdiction, Chevron vowed to "demonize Donziger" and sued him for billions of dollars using roughly 60 law firms and 2,000 lawyers. When Donziger famously appealed a court order to turn over his computer and confidential case file to Chevron, a judge in 2019 charged him with criminal contempt of court. When the federal prosecutor rejected the misdemeanor charge, the same judge appointed a private Chevron law firm to act in the shoes of the US government and prosecute Donziger directly in the nation's first corporate prosecution. This resulted in his arbitrary detention at home and in prison for 993 days in a case that the UN's Working Group On Arbitrary Detention condemned as a violation of international law. Three federal judges – including two from the US Supreme Court – have condemned Donziger's prosecution as unconstitutional. Donziger, who is currently seeking a pardon from President Biden, lives in New York City with his wife and son.

 

Connect witih Steven:
IG: @StevenDonziger
Twitter: @SDonziger
Website / Petition Link: https://www.freedonziger.com/ 
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/aBug40vNr3Y