Americans held hostage in Iran win compensation, 36 years later
Buried in the huge spending bill signed into law last Friday are
provisions that would give each of the 53 hostages or their estates up
to $4.4 million.
Victims of other state-sponsored terrorist attacks
such as the 1998 American Embassy bombings in East Africa would also be
eligible for benefits under the law.
“I had to pull over to the side of the road, and I basically cried,”
said Rodney V. Sickmann, who was a Marine sergeant working as a security
guard at the embassy in Tehran when he was seized along with the other
Americans by an angry mob that overran the compound on Nov. 4, 1979. “It
has been 36 years, one month, 14 days, obviously, until President Obama
signed the actual bill, until Iran was held accountable,” he said.
Rodney V. Sickmann |
David M. Roeder |
Some of the hostages were subject to physical and psychological torture during their long ordeal.
It is not clear, however, whether all the former hostages or their
families will receive full payments. In large measure that is because
the $4.4 million total authorized by Congress depends on the outcome of
efforts to collect on judgments won in earlier court rulings involving
victims of terrorist attacks, as well as on the number of victims who
file claims.
The law authorizes payments of up to $10,000 per day of captivity for
each of the 53 hostages, 37 of whom are still alive. Fifty-two hostages
were released on Jan. 20, 1981; a 53rd hostage had been released earlier
because of illness.
Spouses and children are authorized to receive a lump payment of as much as $600,000.
0 comments:
Post a Comment