Iran, Syria hit with $90 Million Dollar Judgment in US Court

A US federal court has entered Judgment against the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic, ordering the countries, as state sponsors of terrorism, to pay $90 million US dollars in compensatory and punitive damages in connection with the terrorist murder of Eitam Henkin.

Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the US District Court for the District of Columbia awarded the damages to the family of Eitam Henkin, a 31-year-old PhD student and an American citizen, who was driving past the town of Beit Furik with his wife and four children when he and his wife were brutally shot and killed in front of their four children.

As found by the Court, HAMAS, which took credit for the double murder on its official website, had been receiving and benefiting from funding, weapons and other material support provided by both Iran and Syria, both of which have long supported terrorism – and continue to do so to this day. HAMAS is an acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement, which commits heinous terror attacks against civilians, citizens and visitors to Israel and elsewhere and as a result has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.  Iran and Syria have been designated by the US State Department as state sponsors of terrorism and therefore do not enjoy sovereign immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

The compensatory damages awarded by the court included $5 million to each of Eitam’s parents and $2.5 million to each of his siblings as compensation for the mental anguish, bereavement, grief and irreparable tragic loss which they have suffered as a result of the heinous murder of Eitam.

In addition, the Court awarded the Henkin family punitive damages in the amount of $67.5 million, consistent with other DC District Court decisions “to punish and deter the actions for which they were awarded, rather than to compensate the victim.”  Judge Lamberth aptly stated “this Court hopes that the victims and their families may find some measure of solace from this Court’s final judgment” in awarding the damages to the family.

The Plaintiffs are represented by the law firms of Heideman Nudelman & Kalik, PC of Washington, DC. and Michael Dvorin, Esq. of Jerusalem, Israel. “Pursuing Justice through litigation filed on behalf of American victims of terror is necessary, not only on behalf of the Henkin family, but also in order to stand against terror organizations and operatives who choose to fight their political battles through weaponry, hatred and rejection of the freedoms we enjoy as Americans.  As it has been said, ‘Justice, Justice Thou Shalt Pursue”  said senior counsel Richard D. Heideman, speaking from Jerusalem, Israel.

About Heideman Nudelman & Kalik PC

The law firm of Heideman Nudelman & Kalik, PC. (www.HNKlaw.com), based in Washington, DC, is a global firm with affiliates in various parts of the world. Richard D. Heideman, Noel J. Nudelman, Tracy R. Kalik and other members and associates of the firm have extensive experience in complex litigation. The firm has served as lead counsel in numerous cases on behalf of victims and their family members who have been killed or injured in terrorist attacks throughout the world.  Such litigation includes cases against Libya, the Syrian Arab Republic, The Islamic Republic of Iran, the PA/PLO, Arab Bank, PLC and others accused of funding or providing material support for terror.

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For further information, contact:

Richard D. Heideman, Senior Counsel, Heideman Nudelman & Kalik, P.C.

Tel: 202 463-8018

Cell:  202 255-5700

Email: rdheideman@hnklaw.com