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A US COURT has found the Syrian government culpable in the 2012 death of journalist Marie Colvin, ordering a $302.5 million (€264 million) judgment for what it called an “unconscionable” attack that targeted journalists.
Colvin – a renowned war correspondent whose harrowing career was celebrated in the recent Golden Globe-nominated film A Private War — was killed in the Syrian army’s deliberate shelling of the Baba Amr Media Centre in Homs on 22 February 2012.
According to the judgment, Syrian military and intelligence tracked the broadcasts of Colvin and other journalists covering the siege of Homs to the media centre.
They then targeted it in an artillery barrage that killed Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik.
The federal court in the US capital cited the testimony of a former Syrian intelligence officer who was given the name Ulysses, who said that after the attack, Syrian officers celebrated the news that Colvin had been killed.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled in favour of the complaint by members of Colvin’s family that her death was an extrajudicial killing in violation of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
“Marie Colvin was a journalist who was killed by the Syrian government while reporting on the atrocities occurring during civil war,” Jackson wrote.
“She was specifically targeted because of her profession, for the purpose of silencing those reporting on the growing opposition movement in the country.”
Cathleen Colvin, who brought the lawsuit with her three children, said: “It’s been almost seven years since my sister was killed by the Assad Regime, and not a day goes by when I don’t think of her.
“Marie dedicated her life to fighting for justice on behalf of the victims of war and ensuring that their stories were heard,” she added.
Colvin, who was 56 and working for the Sunday Times when she died, was known for her fearless reporting and signature black eye patch — the consequence of losing sight in one eye in an explosion during Sri Lanka’s civil war.
Actress Rosamund Pike played her in Matthew Heineman’s feature film A Private War, which was released in November to critical acclaim.
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The US must owe some amount of money then so
@Shaun Gallagher: Why’s that?
@Niall Higgins: because they pumped serious amounts of money into militias in Syria to destabilise the country. Libya too. Obama was really good at pr. came out smiling
@Shaun Gallagher: age
@Niall Higgins: they are the past masters of exta-judicial killings, it’s a major strand of their foreign policy.
Would you like that lodged as a bank transfer or by PayPal.
Not one red cent will they receive.
@BaaB: I was wondering if it could be taken from Syrian assets confiscated in the west if there are any. I do think it’s unlikely they’ll get it though.
@BaaB: cash!
@Paul Murphy:
Cash is king!!!!
Terrible thing to happen but isn’t there a certain job risk, i.e. death, attached to being a war journalist?
@danny: having sneaked into the highly dangerous zone
Terrible mistake fueled by the desire of the reporter and audience to get “up close”
@danny: not when you’re reporting the “the narrative”, you shouldn’t be killed then.
@danny: Given the number of journalists accidently killed and injured in conflict zones it’s fair to say they enter with their eyes open, knowing the risks are considerable. She, especially, knew this having lost an eye to an RPG blast while in Sri Lanka in 2001. However in this case the Syrians broke all international laws and treaties by deliberately targeting the journalists media centre with artillery. To be clear their deaths were no accident but rather State ordered murder, assassination. That said, I doubt Assad will ever hand over a cent of this compensation, but perhaps some Syrian assets may be seized in lieu…
@danny: yep – like you risk being seen as an insensitive arsehol* when you comment like that – brave journalists are needed to try cut thru the spin and report what goes on in difficult places – of course its risky but bravery requires risk taking – something shoulder shrugging pontificating keyboard warriors wouldn’t understand .
@danny: yes but she was deliberately targeted, along with other journalists, that’s the difference.
@Dave Hammond: so Dave, you don’t agree with Danny, I don’t either but slyly calling him an shoulder shrugging pontificating keyboard warrior a*s*h*le makes you exactly as you described, insulting someone you don’t agree with does not make you a fearless warrior, just the opposite actually
Wonder how much the US will be paying for all the innocent people they slaughtered….
@Jack Goff: wonder how much UK will owe us when they eventually do get the Feck out
Let’s go into your country,blow it to pieces scatter it’s people on boats for their lives and pay us 302 million.nearly as arrogant as their British friends
@dick dastardly: US, Britain and Australia (which always supplies troops to a US war) invade and destabilise the Middle East and North Africa, Europe collects the refugees of war; US, Australia and Britain decide they don’t want the refugees from the wars they were heaviest involved in. Go Figure!
302 millions dollars for her family and zero dollars compensation for the French journalist family then. Looks like Life doesn’t have the same value depending on which side of the Atlantic we are from.
@Vincent: het family brought a case. Did the French journalists family do so? But, there is an amazing level of hypocracy here,you’re right
I can see Assad heading for the ATM now
You couldn’t make it up. Oh wait.
But Saudi murders a US journalists outside of a war zone, and US sign an arms deal with them. Absolutely hypocrisy.
Sixteen employees of Radio Television of Serbia died when a single NATO missile hit the building – Serb TV station was legitimate target, says Blair
https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/apr/24/balkans3
Only the good guys are allowed to kill journalists I guess.
Will Iraq, Syria and Libya be allowed sue America and Britain. Such hypocrisy
The EU and US economic sanctions are still there against Syria….Keeping its people poor and impoverished….US army have closed road to Iraq to stop trade with Iraq….These sanctions punish the ordinary people of Syria not the Assad regime….
what a croc of shite if the us hadn’t instigated the “civil war” the she wouldn’t have been there in the first place
And the US must have killed around 500,000 in Iraq alone so multiply that figure by 302 million and you have the cost of compensation to the Iraqi people.
Suppose they could get a Credit Union loan to pay it.
What a terrible excuse for a country!? How did the world allow these gobshoites to have nuclear weapons!?
@Cormac Ó Braonáin: they invented them
Putin and Assad would be smirking after reading this verdict by an all powerful US district judge.
that should make an interesting episode of “can’t pay? we’ll take it away”
They should of used an Irish court to sue they’d had got zillions !
@BaaB: Don’t think these awards are ever paid. Its a symbolic thing, US using its court system to demonise its enemies. And the higher the award the more chance it will get the attention of world media. Same thing last year when an award for billions was made to families of 9/11 victims…. against Iran !!. Didn’t matter that Iran had nothing to do with 9/11. It was simply to implant the thought in peoples mind “Iran is evil, found guilty in court, support terrorists, etc ect.
Syria will pay when the US pays $3025000000000000000 for all of the destruction and death it has caused around the world over the last 50 years.
What a load of nonsense.
Attacking an MSF hospital with an AC-130 is okay apparently.
What a load of bull, US superiority delusion again…
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