US court: Iran must pay millions for killing Israeli soldier

[bemildred]

Washington - A US court on Friday ordered Iran to pay 25 million dollars plus interest to the family of an Israeli soldier kidnapped and killed by Hamas 15 years ago.

Nachshon Wachsman, a 19-year-old soldier with both US and Israeli citizenship, was kidnapped by four members of Hamas in 1994, while waiting for a ride on a street in Lod, Israel.

He was held captive for six days before being executed by his captors as the Israeli military staged a rescue operation to free him oustide Jerusalem.

The US District Court in Washington found Iran liable for the death because it had provided training and support for Hamas, including several of the kidnappers. Tehran has not responded to the suit, allowing the judge to file a default judgement in favour of Wachsman's family.

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1467353.php

[Kurska]

1. Sad sad sad story

My heart goes out to the family.
Guess it's only a matter of time before some Iranian court issues a "Counter suit" of some kind about some poor guy who has got his head blown off on the other side of the conflict though, as if shit like this should be politicized like this.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

2. Will this set a precedent for awarding compensation to those killed by Israel?

Answer: of course not.

[Kurska]

3. saw that coming from a mile away n/t

[Violet_Crumble]

9. I'd say coz it's a very good and logical question....

Do you have a problem with it?

Quite a few Palestinians with dual US citizenship have been killed by Israel. I wonder if the US view on jurisdiction applies to them and whether they could have their cases heard in a US court? My guess is no, as the US doesn't have a good track record when it comes to consistancy...

[shira]

11. I'm all for it, sue them all

if criminal intent is proven by state actors, they should all be sued.

[LeftishBrit]

16. Agreed

I think there should be more recourse to compensation for unlawful killings and maimings on all sides in all conflicts. It might deter war crimes; and in any case a culture of 'sue the hell out of your enemy' is at any rate much better than the more usual one of 'bomb the hell out of your enemy'.

[bemildred]

5. That's a good question. It occurred to me.

There are a boatload of Palestinians that have been captives and/or murdered, and once they or their successors have access to legal process for their grievances as in this case, it's going to be a big mess.

[Arctic Dave]

7. How much will the US be sued for. If this is a precedent

we will go broke from Iraq alone.

Also, this guy was in the military and although it does go against Geneva Conventions he was a military target.

I find it hypocritical of the US to not allow civilians the right to sue us for imprisonment and torture.

[LeftishBrit]

15. I hope it does.

[Jefferson23]

4. Let's hope they pay, it is the very least they can do.

[Make7]

6. Apparently an Israeli life is worth much more than an Iranian life.

From the settlement of the shootdown of Iran Air Flight 655:

[I]n the Settlement Agreement on Certain Claims Before the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal, the United States shall pay the Settlement Amount of US $131,800,000 as provided in the General Agreement on the Settlement of Certain I.C.J. and Tribunal Cases, which shall include US $61,800,000 for the heirs and legatees of the 248 Iranian victims of the aerial incident listed in Annex 1.

http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/79/11131.pdf

One Iranian life is worth approximately $250,000
One Israeli life is worth $25,000,000

[Idealism]

8. A US Court has no jurisdiction over Iran, or any other country for that matter.

This is comical.

[hack89]

10. Do Spanish courts have jurisdiction over Israeli leaders?

Do Italian courts have jurisdiction over the CIA?

I have no problem with your pov.

[Idealism]

12. Damages/Reparation is a matter of civil court, and thus has no business being done by the US.

It is a matter for the ICJ, as a fair and neutral arbiter, to settle disputes between nations. The US have no business in this matter.

Spanish courts, Italian courts, etc. have tried citizens, not an entire government (although an indictment could be ultimately brought against say the head of the Revolutionary Guard of Iran for potentially being an accomplice). The reason it was not brought to the ICJ is because this particular case is pretty thin and it opens up a world of other cases that neither Israel nor Iran wants to go down. The ruling in this case to me is obviously politically motivated, and justice is not being served by it.

[azurnoir]

13. perhaps US courts should pay attention to our

dirty laundry but never mind Spain is doing it for us.

[Alamuti Lotus]

14. ridiculous provocation