Iran Refutes US Decree on Compensation for Former Hostage in LebanonIran on Wednesday refuted a US federal judge's decree against Iran seeking compensation for a former American hostage in Lebanon as "illusionary and contrary to the international norms."The U.S. federal judge's decree is "beyond the internationally recognized norms" and "it is totally invalid and cannot produce a right for the American side," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told the official IRNA news agency. The U.S. federal judge recently ruled that Iran pay 323.5 million U.S. dollars in damages to university professor Thomas Sutherland, who was held hostage by Lebanese militants for six-and- a-half years. Iran has no connection with kidnapping in Lebanon, Asefi stressed, saying that "this was not the first time that a U.S. court issued decree against the Islamic Republic of Iran on fabricated allegations." Sutherland's ordeal began on June 9, 1985, when he arrived in Lebanon from the U.S. and was being driven from the airport to the American University of Beirut. The car was sideswiped and forced to stop by another vehicle carrying eight men with submachine guns, who were alleged to be members of the pro-Iranian guerrilla group Hezbollah. The kidnapping marked the beginning of a 2,354-day nightmare, during which Sutherland was kept prisoner in various parts of Lebanon. He was released in November 1991. |
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