DC agrees to $13M settlement with protesters arrested at 2000 World Bank, IMF meetings
By: SARAH KARUSH
Associated Press
11/24/09 6:00 AM PST
WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia has agreed to pay more than $13 million to settle a lawsuit by protesters arrested during demonstrations nine years ago.
The preliminary agreement was announced Monday. It includes a maximum payment of $18,000 to each of 680 people who were arrested at the April 2000 protests tied to meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
According to the class-action lawsuit, protesters and bystanders were trapped on all sides by police and then arrested in a calculated attempt to disrupt days of planned protests. Many people were held for hours in harsh conditions, the plaintiffs alleged.
Earlier this month, the city settled a lawsuit with eight anti-war protesters arrested in 2002, agreeing to pay $450,000.
