The Baumels allege that the government of Syria is responsible for the illegal imprisonment of their son Zachary Baumel, a dual American-Israeli citizen, since his capture during a battle along the Lebanese-Syrian-Israeli border on June 11, 1982.
Dr. Stuart H. Ditchek, a friend of the Baumels and the founder of The Committee for the Release of Zachary Baumel, announced the lawsuit, which will be filed in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia against the government of Syria and its agents. The suit is being brought under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act that provides for an exception to the immunity from lawsuits that most foreign governments enjoy. The Act allows United States citizens to sue certain foreign governments that support and aid terrorist activities and hold them civilly liable for certain criminal acts.
The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act has been used in past years to successfully obtain judgments against countries that support terrorist activities and recover damages from the government of Iran for acts resulting in injury, death, kidnapping and illegal imprisonment.
Daniel J. Scher of the law firm Scher & Scher, P.C. in New York will be working on Baumel's case together with the District of Columbia counsel.
The Syrian ambassador to the United States, Imad Mustapha has been notified via his communications officer at the Syrian Embassy in Washington of the impending lawsuit.