The American Coalition for Syria (ACS) welcomes the decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to unseal a landmark lawsuit filed by the Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (Freshfields) on behalf of a Syrian American citizen against the Assad regime for the widespread and systematic torture in its detention centers.
The lawsuit was filed by Obada Mzaik, who was detained and tortured at the Air Force Intelligence Branch at the Mezzeh Military Airport in 2012. Mzaik filed the suit on behalf of the more than 130,000 Syrians who were tortured in detention centers, almost all of them unable to obtain justice. The lawsuit was filed under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, a federal law that permits victims to sue designated state-sponsors of terrorism, like the Assad regime, for the torture of U.S. nationals.
ACS recognizes the importance of this lawsuit in holding the Assad regime accountable for its policy of detention, torture, enforced disappearance, and extrajudicial execution of individuals and calls on the United States to take more action to uphold due process and the rule of law by creating pathways for torture survivors to pursue justice, including those who are not U.S. citizens.
The lawsuit was filed by Obada Mzaik, who was detained and tortured at the Air Force Intelligence Branch at the Mezzeh Military Airport in 2012. Mzaik filed the suit on behalf of the more than 130,000 Syrians who were tortured in detention centers, almost all of them unable to obtain justice. The lawsuit was filed under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, a federal law that permits victims to sue designated state-sponsors of terrorism, like the Assad regime, for the torture of U.S. nationals.
ACS recognizes the importance of this lawsuit in holding the Assad regime accountable for its policy of detention, torture, enforced disappearance, and extrajudicial execution of individuals and calls on the United States to take more action to uphold due process and the rule of law by creating pathways for torture survivors to pursue justice, including those who are not U.S. citizens.
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The American Coalition for Syria is a coalition of specialized, multi-faith, US-based organizations that support a principled US policy based on democratic reform, human rights, accountability, and women's empowerment in Syria.
For more information about the organization, please visit https://acsyria.org/about-us
For more information about the organization, please visit https://acsyria.org/about-us
