Families Of Kidnapped Persian Jews Sue Khatami In US Court (Good for them!)

prnewswire ^ | Sept. 9, 2006

[nuconvert]

Families Of Kidnapped Persian Jews Sue Khatami In US Court

Law suit alleges visiting Iranian implemented anti-Semitic policy of torture and imprisonment

NEW YORK, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Seven Jewish-Iranian families have filed suit in an American federal court against former President Mohammad Khatami over charges that he is responsible for the kidnapping and torture of their missing family members.

The families, currently residing in Los Angeles and Israel, contend that Khatami instituted the policy of imprisoning their relatives without trials and refusing to provide them any information concerning their whereabouts. The Jews were arrested on different occasions during the years 1994 through 1997, as they sought to leave Iran across its border with Pakistan.

On Friday evening copies of the complaint and summons were served on Khatami at a reception in Arlington, Virginia hosted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Khatami has twenty days to file an answer denying the allegations or default the case.

The plaintiffs, who are not U.S. citizens, brought the suit under special laws - the Alien Torts Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act -which permit foreigners to sue their tormentors for torture and kidnapping in American courts. The lawsuit filed in the New York District Court is being represented by attorneys Robert Tolchin of New York, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of Jerusalem and Pooya Dayanim of Los Angeles.

The plaintiffs are seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages against Khatami for his role in the on-going disappearance of their loved ones.

Since the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, millions of Iranian citizens have sought to escape from the Islamic regime. In normal circumstances when Muslim citizens are arrested attempting to leave without official permission, the established punishment is a small fine or a short jail term. However, in the instances where Jewish citizens have been similarly arrested, the Islamic government has instituted much harsher penalties.

The Plaintiffs allege that Khatami has singled out the Jewish community and authorized the policy of secretly imprisoning the Jews indefinitely.

Over the years, the Jewish families have received reports from other former prisoners and guards that the missing Jews are alive and being held in different prisons. In the case of the Tehrani family of Los Angeles, a former Muslim neighbor has sworn out an affidavit testifying that he has seen their missing son, Babak Tehrani, in a Tehran prison two years after his disappearance.

"These Persian Jewish families are seeking to bring Khatami before an American court for his involvement in the torture and imprisonment of their loved ones in Iran," stated the families' attorney Nitsana-Darshan-Leitner, "It is shocking that the State Department would grant this anti-Semitic criminal a travel visa instead of joining with the families in the struggle to bring him to justice.

The court case will establish that these missing Jews are indeed still alive in Iranian prisons and that the former President violated international law with his policy of arrests and torture which targeted the Jewish community."

[nuconvert]

I was hoping more Iranians would sue Khatami and ahve their attorneys serve him while he was here

[Gay State Conservative]

Sue him? Why not arrest him? If it's good enough for Pinochet,it's good enough for this 9th Century knuckledragger.

[1rudeboy]

It's a civil suit, not a criminal case.

[nuconvert]

Khatami served with summons at CAIR dinner. LOL

[middie]

Tomorrow I'm going to get a copy of the complaint (the initial pleading) to learn from the jurisdictional statement. I'm not acquainted with the act mentioned. Hmmm, interesting.

[nuconvert]

Pong

[AdmSmith]

http://www.answers.com/topic/alien-tort-statute

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture_Victim_Protection_Act_of_1992

[nuconvert]

Thanx for the info.

I wish someone had a video of Khatami being served a summons at CAIR dinner. LoL

[Mrs. Darla Ruth Schwerin]

That is REALLY, REALLY weird. Filing a lawsuit against some spaz of Iran in OUR courts? Sounds like somebody, somewhere is confused. No wonder things are so messed up in the states. We've allowed the cruelties and ineptness of foreign countries to take up valuable United States court time. Let these other countries deal with their own problems. Why should OUR courts be dealing with anything that does not concern the United States...

[AdmSmith]

Why should OUR courts be dealing with anything that does not concern the United States..

Because:

The Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1350, is a federal law that originally was part of the Judiciary Act of 1789. It simply states that "The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States."

[AdmSmith]

If you check this site later today or tomorrow there will be more information http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/09/former-iran-president-sued-by-jewish.php

[Diogenesis]

I bet Harvard Law School and the US State Dept will help the Defendants (ie. IRAN).

[Lurker]

Khatami served with summons at CAIR dinner. LOL

I would pay good money to see a video of that.

L

[Valin]

I LOVE IT! Even though I doubt anything will come of it.

[nuconvert]

Thanks!

[Mrs. Darla Ruth Schwerin]

Thanks for the reply...

[Dodgers fan]

excuse me, but this can't be dealt with in Iran because it is an "Islamic court". You really sound very heartless.

[Dodgers fan]

I hope he choked on his hors d'oeurvre. Do you think they had a coctail hour?

[Mrs. Darla Ruth Schwerin]

You do sound quite heartless...