Israeli group sues to block release of Iran assets worth billions

Shurat HaDin Law Center files injunction on behalf of American victims of terror attacks between 1995-2006

Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, chairwoman of Shurat HaDin, the Israel Law Center. (Courtesy: Shurat HaDin)
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, chairwoman of Shurat HaDin, the Israel Law Center. (Courtesy: Shurat HaDin)

An Israel-based rights group is legally seeking to block the release of $100 billion in frozen Iranian assets in the United States following the US-led nuclear deal with Tehran.

The Shurat HaDin Law Center says it’s acting on behalf of two dozen US citizens who won more than one billion dollars in judgments against Iran in American courts but who were never paid.

The center says it filed the injunction Wednesday at a New York district court.

The Americans were victims of attacks perpetrated from 1995 to 2006 by Iran-backed militant groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Palestinian groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The center says releasing frozen Iranian funds under the nuclear deal would deprive the Americans of the only leverage they have to make Iran pay.

Shurat HaDin is known for suing states such as Iran and Syria on behalf of victims of torture or terrorism, aiming for bad publicity for those governments even if it can’t get them to pay.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.

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