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Iran Must Pay Family of Israel Bombing Victim, Court Says

(Washington Post) The government of Iran must pay $313 million to the children of Leah Stern, an American woman killed in a 1997 suicide bombing that tore apart a Jerusalem market where she had been shopping, U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled Thursday. Judge Lamberth said he found the evidence "overwhelming" that Iran's military had trained the commanders of the Islamic Resistance Movement, also known as Hamas, and that these commanders arranged the 1997 market bombing. The judge said there is also clear evidence that Iran's government had paid millions of dollars to sponsor the group's attacks and the purchase of sophisticated bombing supplies. The Iranian government did not contest the suit. Lamberth said in his 30-page ruling that Iran began to bankroll and train Hamas for terrorist missions in the early 1990s, and even rewarded the group after a suicide bombing. "By bolstering Hamas, and turning it into a deadly and effective leader in the fight against Israel, Iran boosted popular support for the Islamic movement among Palestinians," Lamberth wrote. "Likewise...Iran was and is interested in using Hamas terrorist attacks to disrupt peace negotiations between Israel and the Arabs."
2003-07-18 00:00:00
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