Litigation Filed to Hold Syria Liable for Damages Incurred by American Victims of Brussels Airport Terrorist Attack
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 15, 2021 – Heideman Nudelman & Kalik, P.C., the Washington D.C. law firm, has filed a lawsuit, Estate of Justin Shults, et al., v. Syrian Arab Republic, on behalf of United States victims of terror against the Syrian Arab Republic (“Syria”), a designated State Sponsor of Terrorism, for providing material support to The Islamic State, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (“ISIS”). The Complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks to hold Syria accountable for the Brussels Airport Attack which was carried out by ISIS on the morning of March 22, 2016.
The ISIS cell responsible for committing the Brussels Airport Attack is part of the same ISIS cell that carried out the terror attacks at the Bataclan Theatre and other locations in Paris on November 13, 2015 (“Paris Bataclan Theatre Attack”). Both attacks were carried out in similar fashion and included several calculated simultaneous shootings and/or bombings in multiple locations around each city.
As described in the Complaint, on March 22, 2016, three ISIS operatives entered the Brussels Airport carrying deadly bombs. At approximately 8:00 a.m. local time two bombs were detonated inside the Brussels Airport killing 32 and injuring hundreds. ISIS immediately took responsibility for the bombings. Syria provided material support to ISIS by providing training, weapons, logistical support and funding to the ISIS terrorists who committed this terrorist attack.
Three of the Plaintiffs in this case were brutally murdered and nine Plaintiffs were tragically and permanently injured. Each of the 27 Plaintiffs in this case incurred significant pain and suffering directly or as a result of the death and/or serious injuries to their loved ones. This case is related to Winternitz, et al., v. Syrian Arab Republic, 1:17-cv-02104 (D. D.C. Oct. 11, 2017) also filed by Heideman Nudelman & Kalik, P.C. on behalf of victims of the Brussels Airport Attack.
Heideman Nudelman & Kalik, P.C. also recently filed the case Wilson, et al., v. Syrian Arab Republic on behalf of victims of the Paris Bataclan Theatre Attack, carried out by ISIS with support from Syria. In the Paris Bataclan Theatre Attack 89 people were killed while at least 99 others were seriously injured and hospitalized.
Richard D. Heideman, Senior Counsel of Heideman Nudelman & Kalik, P.C., stated “Syria was designated as a State Sponsor of terror by the U.S. State Department in 1979 and is the terror-supporting country which has been, and remains, so designated for the longest period of time and is subject to the jurisdiction of US courts in accordance with the terrorism exception of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. Syria must be held accountable for its sponsorship of this heinous act of murder and maiming of innocent people who were simply at an airport to board their flights or to wish their loved one’s goodbye. . Syria must be punished. Not only will the litigation bring justice to the victims of this terror attack, but it is also designed to serve as a deterrent against the continuation of future Syrian supported terrorism.”
For the better part of the last twenty years, Heideman Nudelman & Kalik, P.C. has been a vigorous advocate for American victims of terror, holding the perpetrators and sponsor of heinous terror attacks accountable, while seeking justice for the victims of these terror attacks. Heideman Nudelman & Kalik, P.C.’s clients include victims of the 1983 attack on the United States Marine barracks in Beirut; victims of the 1985 hijacking of EgyptAir Flight 648; victims of the 1985 attack on Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Rome; victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States and victims of countless attacks in Israel upon children, families and communities. Heideman Nudelman & Kalik, P.C. attorneys have secured judgments on behalf of the firm’s clients assessing billions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages against state sponsors of terror who have been accused of providing material support for terror.
Richard D. Heideman further stated “As it has been written, Justice Justice Thou Shalt Pursue”.