The 12 missing Jews disappeared while attempting to escape Iran, with the help of the Jewish Agency, during the years 1994-97. The escape route required the Jews to cross a desolate section of the Iranian border with Pakistan, and to rendezvous with Israeli representatives on the other side. The Iranian Jews never arrived at the designated meeting place in Pakistan, however, and their families have not heard from them since.
The families believe that their vanished relatives are alive and being held incommunicado by the Iranian government. Some of the families have received scattered reports of “sightings” of their loved ones in Iranian prisons by former prisoners. In the case of the Tehrani family of Los Angeles, a former Muslim neighbor has sworn out an affidavit testifying that he saw their missing son, Babak Tehrani, in a Tehran prison two years after his disappearance.
Several of those missing were teenagers at the time of their attempted escape, while others are married men with children, whose wives are now categorized as “agunot,” or 'chained women' who cannot remarry.
Among the missing Jews are Avraham and Koresh Karamani, in their 40's, whose brother Benny lives in Israel. In addition, the husbands of Nahid Farhanjiyan and Orit Revizadeh were captured; the women and their children have no idea whether their husbands/fathers are alive.
The plaintiffs, currently residing in Los Angeles and Israel, are not U.S. citizens, and brought the suit under special U.S. laws permitting foreigners to sue their tormentors in American courts. Filed in the New York District Court, the suit is being represented by Attorneys Robert Tolchin of New York, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of Jerusalem, and Pooya Dayanim of Los Angeles. The plaintiffs are seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages against Khatami for his role in the on-going disappearance of their loved ones.
Surprise Serve
The law suit charges that Khatami, who served as Iran's president from 1997 to 2005, implemented an anti-Semitic policy of torture and imprisonment without trial.
The law stipulates that the defendant must be physically present in the US to receive the papers against him. The opportunity arose this past Friday, when Khatami attended a Council on American-Islamic Relations reception in Arlington, Virginia as part of his five-city speaking tour. Handed an envelope and told, "You are served," it is not clear whether Khatami knew he was in the process of being sued. In any event, he has 20 days to file a response to the allegations - or else default the case.
Though millions of Iranians have sought to escape from the Islamic regime since it took power in 1979, the punishment upon being caught is generally a small fine or a short jail term. However, Jews who have been caught have been punished much more harshly, including being secretly imprisoned for long periods or indefinitely - and the plaintiffs allege that it was Khatami who initiated this policy.
Volunteers
Yehuda Kasif, the Director-General of the Diamond Exchange in Ramat Gan, has been representing the families for ten years. He told Arutz-7 today that Israeli authorities had always said that they were working behind the scenes on the missing Jews' behalf. "But we felt that this secrecy was merely a cover-up for their failures and lack of doing anything," Kasif said. "In April 2004, we demanded that the State of Israel show proof of what it had done, and a few months later, the Supreme Court agreed with us, demanding that the authorities present what they had done. However, they kept stalling, and the Court went along with them, and for two years, nothing has been done."
"This coming Sept. 27," Kasif said, "a final ruling will be handed down, but I don't expect anything of substance... Instead of doing something about it for eight years, they spend two more years covering up for not having done anything. I believe that the families of the missing prisoners today are going through the same thing, and the same with Ron Arad; the State did not do what it was supposed to do to help them."
Arutz-7: "What do you think the government could have done?"
Kasif: "For instance, Iran came to Israel for help when they needed the plans of the Tehran sewage system that Solel Boneh built during the days of the Shah... and just recently, Israeli infrastructure consultants have been helping Iran rebuild earthquake-struck zones... and there are other cases where Iran asks for our help."
Attorney Darshan-Leitner said, "It is shocking that the State Department would grant this anti-Semitic criminal a travel visa, instead of joining with the families in the struggle to bring him to justice. The court case will establish that these missing Jews are, indeed, still alive in Iranian prisons and that the former President violated international law with his policy of arrests and torture which targeted the Jewish community."
The families believe that their vanished relatives are alive and being held incommunicado by the Iranian government. Some of the families have received scattered reports of “sightings” of their loved ones in Iranian prisons by former prisoners. In the case of the Tehrani family of Los Angeles, a former Muslim neighbor has sworn out an affidavit testifying that he saw their missing son, Babak Tehrani, in a Tehran prison two years after his disappearance.
Several of those missing were teenagers at the time of their attempted escape, while others are married men with children, whose wives are now categorized as “agunot,” or 'chained women' who cannot remarry.
Among the missing Jews are Avraham and Koresh Karamani, in their 40's, whose brother Benny lives in Israel. In addition, the husbands of Nahid Farhanjiyan and Orit Revizadeh were captured; the women and their children have no idea whether their husbands/fathers are alive.
The plaintiffs, currently residing in Los Angeles and Israel, are not U.S. citizens, and brought the suit under special U.S. laws permitting foreigners to sue their tormentors in American courts. Filed in the New York District Court, the suit is being represented by Attorneys Robert Tolchin of New York, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of Jerusalem, and Pooya Dayanim of Los Angeles. The plaintiffs are seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages against Khatami for his role in the on-going disappearance of their loved ones.
Surprise Serve
The law suit charges that Khatami, who served as Iran's president from 1997 to 2005, implemented an anti-Semitic policy of torture and imprisonment without trial.
The law stipulates that the defendant must be physically present in the US to receive the papers against him. The opportunity arose this past Friday, when Khatami attended a Council on American-Islamic Relations reception in Arlington, Virginia as part of his five-city speaking tour. Handed an envelope and told, "You are served," it is not clear whether Khatami knew he was in the process of being sued. In any event, he has 20 days to file a response to the allegations - or else default the case.
Though millions of Iranians have sought to escape from the Islamic regime since it took power in 1979, the punishment upon being caught is generally a small fine or a short jail term. However, Jews who have been caught have been punished much more harshly, including being secretly imprisoned for long periods or indefinitely - and the plaintiffs allege that it was Khatami who initiated this policy.
Volunteers
Yehuda Kasif, the Director-General of the Diamond Exchange in Ramat Gan, has been representing the families for ten years. He told Arutz-7 today that Israeli authorities had always said that they were working behind the scenes on the missing Jews' behalf. "But we felt that this secrecy was merely a cover-up for their failures and lack of doing anything," Kasif said. "In April 2004, we demanded that the State of Israel show proof of what it had done, and a few months later, the Supreme Court agreed with us, demanding that the authorities present what they had done. However, they kept stalling, and the Court went along with them, and for two years, nothing has been done."
"This coming Sept. 27," Kasif said, "a final ruling will be handed down, but I don't expect anything of substance... Instead of doing something about it for eight years, they spend two more years covering up for not having done anything. I believe that the families of the missing prisoners today are going through the same thing, and the same with Ron Arad; the State did not do what it was supposed to do to help them."
Arutz-7: "What do you think the government could have done?"
Kasif: "For instance, Iran came to Israel for help when they needed the plans of the Tehran sewage system that Solel Boneh built during the days of the Shah... and just recently, Israeli infrastructure consultants have been helping Iran rebuild earthquake-struck zones... and there are other cases where Iran asks for our help."
Attorney Darshan-Leitner said, "It is shocking that the State Department would grant this anti-Semitic criminal a travel visa, instead of joining with the families in the struggle to bring him to justice. The court case will establish that these missing Jews are, indeed, still alive in Iranian prisons and that the former President violated international law with his policy of arrests and torture which targeted the Jewish community."