Eleven Indonesian villagers from Aceh province have reached a confidential financial settlement with oil giant ExxonMobil.
The villagers have been at the centre of a two-decade long legal battle over alleged human rights abuses.
They say they endured torture, sexual assault, and beatings by Indonesian soldiers contracted by ExxonMobil.
ExxonMobil said it condemns such abuses “including those asserted in this case against the Indonesian military”.
The villagers allege a number of crimes were committed – these included witnessing their loved ones being shot.
They also said pregnant women were forced to jump repeatedly before being sexually assaulted, and men were subjected to electric shocks, burns, and knife-inflicted graffiti on their backs.
In a statement, the oil giant said: “It should be noted while there were no allegations that any employee directly harmed any of the plaintiffs, the settlement brings closure for all parties.”
“We express our deepest sympathy to the families…
This article was written by and originally published on www.bbc.co.uk