Martinique court dismisses slavery reparations lawsuit

By RODOLPHE LAMY
Associated Press

FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique (AP) — An appeals court in the French Caribbean island of Martinique has dismissed a request from groups seeking slavery reparations in a blow to efforts that began more than 15 years ago. The court provided several reasons for its ruling issued Tuesday, including that there’s a statute of limitations for those crimes. French courts have repeatedly rejected their request, but it was the European Court of Human Rights that kept it alive by making their claims admissible. Undeterred, the International Movement for Reparations and others who joined the lawsuit against the French government vowed to seek a Supreme Court ruling on a civil legal procedure they launched in 2005.