American Civil Liberties Union

On March 20, 2008 Judge Emmet Sullivan wrote to the State Department with regard to the lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Sabbithi, et al. v. Al Saleh, et al., requesting that the State Department take a position on the ACLU's argument that trafficking constitutes a commercial activity. Judge Sullivan noted that this case presents a different legal challenge to diplomatic immunity than presented in previous cases. In light of his letter to the State Department, the judge also denied the diplomats’ motion to dismiss the case on the basis of diplomatic immunity.