HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP SUES YAHOO

A plaintiff who was imprisoned in China in 2003 on charges of subversion is having his case filed in US District Court in San Francisco, where the World Organization for Human Rights USA is suing Yahoo.com for allegedly cooperating with the arrest and torture of several internet activists.

The suit is an important test case that relies on a centuries-old US law, the Alien Tort Claims Act, which activists claim grants US courts jurisdiction over the actions of US companies abroad that violate international norms.