Decades-old lawsuits against IBM and Ford accusing them of supporting apartheid can continue, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The lawsuits accuse the companies of using subsidiaries to sell computers and cars to the South African government, which the plaintiffs argue make the companies responsible for the race-based crimes enacted by the former all-white regime before it was disbanded 20 years ago. The alleged crimes include rape, torture, and murder. The plaintiffs are suing under the 1789 Alien Tort Statute.
