Elahi v. Islamic Republic of Iran

Decision Date20 December 2000
Docket NumberNo. Civ.A. 99-2802(JHG).,Civ.A. 99-2802(JHG).
PartiesDariush ELAHI, individually and as next-of-kin and representative of the Estate of Cyrus Elahi, Plaintiff, v. The ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN and The Iranian Ministry of Information and Security, Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — District of Columbia

Jonathan Richard Mook, Dimuro, Ginsberg & Lieberman, P.C., Alexandria, VA, Philip Jay Hirschkop, Alexandria, VA, Marianne R. Merritt, Alexandria, VA, for plaintiff.

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

JOYCE HENS GREEN, District Judge.

This is an action for wrongful death brought by Dariush Elahi,1 the brother of Cyrus Elahi, a United States national, who, before he was killed on October 23, 1990 in Paris, France, was a former university professor and a dissident of the Iranian regime. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iranian Ministry of Information and Security are named as defendants for ordering the killing of Cyrus Elahi in an act of state-sponsored assassination. Jurisdiction in this case is founded upon those provisions of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 ("FSIA"), as amended, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1602-1611, that grant jurisdiction over foreign states and their officials and agents and that create federal causes of action for personal injury or death to American nationals resulting from state-sponsored terrorism.

Defendants have failed to enter an appearance in this lawsuit, notwithstanding the fact that service of process was made upon them in accordance with the statutory procedures. See 28 U.S.C. § 1608(a)(4).2 On August 14, 2000, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1608(e) and Fed R.Civ.P. 55(a), the Court entered an order of default against the defendants. Before the Court may enter a judgment by default in a specific monetary amount against the defendants, the FSIA provides that the plaintiff "establish [] his claim or right to relief by evidence that is satisfactory to the Court." 28 U.S.C. § 1608(e).3 Accordingly, on November 8 and 9, 2000, the Court conducted a non-jury trial4 at which the plaintiff presented the testimony of seven witnesses: Kenneth Roger Timmerman, Executive Director, Foundation for Democracy; Ladan Boroumand, Ph.D.; Jacques S. Boedels, Armand, Boedels & Associates; Dariush Elahi; Jerome S. Paige, Ph.D.; Patrick J. Clawson, Ph. D.; and Manouchehr Ganji, Secretary-General, Flag of Freedom Organization. Documentary evidence consisting of 106 exhibits also was introduced in support of plaintiff's claims. Because Iran has presented no defense, the Court will accept as true the plaintiff's uncontroverted evidence. See Higgins v. Islamic Republic of Iran, No. 99-377 (D.D.C. Sept. 21, 2000) (Kollar-Kotelly, J.); cf. Alejandre v. Republic of Cuba, 996 F.Supp. 1239, 1243 (S.D.Fla.1997) (accepting as true the plaintiff's "uncontroverted factual allegations").

This Court has engaged in a systematic review of the evidence presented by the plaintiff and the legal issues raised by plaintiff's claim for relief. Upon the evidence adduced at trial, from which the following facts are found pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 52(a), the Court concludes that, as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1608(e), the plaintiff has "establish[ed] his claim or right to relief by evidence that is satisfactory to the court." Accordingly, judgment shall be rendered in favor of the plaintiff as more fully set forth below.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The defendant, the Islamic Republic of Iran ("Iran"), is a foreign state that was founded in 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini following the overthrow of the prior government of the Shah of Iran. In 1989, after the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani became President and remained in that position into the 1990's. The current President of Iran is Mohammed Khatemi.

2. The United States Department of State has designated Iran as being a leading sponsor of terrorism for over a decade. Iran's direct support of terrorist activities has prompted the United States to suspend diplomatic relations, impose trade restrictions, and participate in the international embargo of the country. See, e.g., Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996, Pub.L. 104-72, 10th Cong., 2d Sess. (Aug. 5, 1996), 110 Stat. 1541; 31 C.F.R. § 596.201 (prohibiting exports and sales to Iran). President Clinton recently reaffirmed and renewed sanctions against Iran when on March 15, 2000, he issued a Notice continuing the "national emergency" with respect to Iran "[b]ecause the actions and policies of the Government of Iran," including "its support for international terrorism," continue to "threaten the security, foreign policy and economy of the United States." Exhibit 15.

3. Iran uses several different organizations to carry out its pattern of terrorist activities. One of these organizations is the defendant Ministry of Information and Security ("MOIS"), the Iranian intelligence service.5 With approximately 30,000 employees, MOIS is the largest intelligence agency in the Middle East and has an approximate annual budget of between $100-$400 million. See Anderson, 90 F.Supp.2d at 112-13 (finding MOIS's approximate annual budget between $100-$500 million). The United States Department of State has concluded that Iranian intelligence services facilitate and direct terrorist attacks, including attacks against regime opponents living abroad. Moreover, this policy is conducted with the "approval of the highest levels of the Iranian regime...."6 United States Department of State, Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1991, April 1992, at 30; Exhibit 3.

4. At the time of the events at issue in this case, the Iranian Minister of Intelligence and head of MOIS was Ayatollah Fallahian. As explained by Dr. Clawson, Minister Fallahian actively participated in the creation of MOIS and was the most important decision maker within the organization.

5. Individuals implicated in the killing of Cyrus Elahi confirmed, under oath, to French authorities that Minister Fallahian was involved in ordering the killings of Iranian dissidents in Paris. Exhibit 58, p. 4; Exhibit 59, p. 110. German prosecutorial authorities, moreover, have issued a warrant for Minister Fallahian's arrest for ordering the 1992 assassination of Iranian Kurdish dissidents in Germany. In a 1992 interview on Iranian television, Minister Fallahian discussed MOIS' success in eliminating opponents of the regime, stating: "[W]e track them abroad too.... Last year we succeeded in striking fundamental blows to their top members." Exhibit 74; Tr. 341 (Ganji); Exhibit 45; Exhibit 46.

6. Following the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a number of organizations were formed outside the country in opposition to the clerical government. Mr. Timmerman, an expert on the Iranian government's sponsorship of terrorism, identified several of these opposition groups: the Flag of Freedom Organization, founded by Dr. Manoucher Ganji, the former Minister of Education in the Shah's regime, and his assistant, Cyrus Elahi; the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran, which advocates a secular democracy for Kurds living in Northern Iran; the National Council of Resistance, which is dominated by the People's Mojahedin of Iran, an allegedly Marxist organization, based in Turkey and Iraq; the Constitutional Monarchist Organization; and the National Resistance Movement, organized by the exiled former Iranian Prime Minister Shahpour Bakhtiar, and his deputy Abdolrahman Boroumand, who, according to Kenneth Timmerman, were later both assassinated by agents of the Iranian government.

7. According to Dr. Clawson, the Iranian government sought to eliminate any effective opposition to the clerical regime by engaging in the widespread assassination of dissidents both within Iran and abroad. Tr. 235 (Clawson). As explained by Mr. Timmerman, the Iranian government was concerned that Iranians living in exile would coalesce around a single opposition leader and become a threat to the regime. Mr. Timmerman described the pattern of terrorism and assassination undertaken by the Islamic Republic as being to "decapitate the opposition." Tr. 39 (Timmerman).7

8. According to Dr. Clawson, the Iranian government's initial campaign of assassinations proved successful and, accordingly, the clerics consolidated their power in Iran. A renewed concentration of assassinations began in 1989 following the end of the Iran-Iraq war and the death of the Ayatollah Khomeini. At that time, Mr. Rafsanjani assumed the presidency of Iran and in order to solidify his power, the government "redoubled its activities" to eliminate opponents of the regime. Tr. 235 (Clawson). Dr. Clawson explained that based upon his research, he determined that "Mr. Rafsanjani devoted a lot of attention, a lot of resources" to directing these assassinations and evidence of direct Iranian involvement in those assassinations comes "from numerous accounts ... just how much priority Mr. Rafsanjani placed on this campaign." Tr. 235 (Clawson). Dr. Clawson testified that there were a "great many killings" during this campaign, and Iran "assassinated some of the top leaders of the major [opposition] organizations." Tr. 237, 240-41 (Clawson).

9. The scope of the terrorist activities launched against those organizations opposed to the current Iranian government and others has been worldwide. The testimony and documentary evidence introduced at trial, including reports by the United States and foreign governmental authorities, human rights groups, and the world press indicate that Iran and MOIS have authorized, sponsored, and directed the assassination of critics and opponents of the Iranian regime in countries throughout the world. Criminal investigations in both France and Germany and the decisions of the courts of those countries have found evidence of direct involvement by the government of Iran, MOIS, and Minister Fallahian in the killings of opponents of the Tehran regime. Exhibits 58, 59 (France); Exhibits...

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