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WASHINGTON: A court in the United States has ordered Iran’s government to pay more than $1.4 billion in punitive and compensatory damages to the family of a former FBI agent who disappeared during a visit in March 2007.
In an order issued late last week, US District Judge Timothy Kelly said he adopted a special expert’s recommendation that Robert Levinson’s family be awarded $107 million in compensatory damages. The judge awarded punitive damages of $1.3 billion.
The court cited the case of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who died in 2017 shortly after being freed from captivity in North Korea, in deciding to award a significant amount of punitive damages to Levinson’s family.
“Iran’s conduct here is also unique, given that – astonishingly – it plucked a former FBI and DEA special agent from the face of the earth without warning, tortured him, held him captive for as long as 13 years, and to this day refuses to admit its responsibility,” Kelly said.
“His wife and children, and their spouses and children – while keeping Levinson’s memory alive – have had to proceed with their lives without knowing his exact fate.”
In a statement, Levinson’s family welcomed the ruling. Earlier this year, Levinson’s family said they believed he died in Iranian custody, based on information from US officials.
Iran denied that and said the former FBI agent had left the country years ago. Levinson disappeared after flying from Dubai to Kish Island near Iran in March 2007.
Months after he disappeared, US government acknowledged that before his trip, Levinson had maintained a contractual relationship with the analytical branch of the Central Intelligence Agency. A handful of CIA officials were forced out of the agency and several were disciplined after an internal investigation.
