In 1995, the Nigerian government executed the Ogoni Nine – environmental activists who were trying to fight Shell’s exploitation of their homeland. Now, four widows are taking the oil company to court. And: Dan Sabbagh on the ramifications of Trump’s shock decision to withdraw from the Turkish-Syrian border
Earlier this year, a Dutch court ruled it had jurisdiction to determine whether Royal Dutch Shell was complicit in the Nigerian government’s 1995 execution of the Ogoni Nine – environmental protesters who fought against widespread pollution in the Niger Delta. This week, Shell’s alleged role in the killings is finally being examined by a court in The Hague.
The Guardian reporter Kate Hodal talks to Rachel Humphreys about the original trial, which was widely discredited as a sham, and the alleged collusion between Shell and the Nigerian government. Humphreys also talks to Esther Kiobel, whose husband, Dr Barinem Kiobel, was among the nine executed, and who has been fighting for justice ever since. Channa Samkalden, the lead lawyer on the case, explains the implications it might have for Shell.
And: Guardian defence editor Dan Sabbagh on the ramifications of Trump’s shock decision to withdraw from the Turkish-Syrian border.