A law firm based in Washington, D.C. has ruled over $20 million Syria Arab Republic Sam Goodwin, a native of St. Louis, was captured for 63 days during a trip to every country in the world.
U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly awarded Goodwin $20,201,620 in compensation and punitive damages, approximately $10 million per person, in response to a lawsuit by a "state legislator" of "state sponsors" under the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act.
About half of the judgments are paid by U.S. victims of state-funded terrorism fund, which is Sanctions are underway and other penalties. Depending on the amount of funds in the fund, Goodwin may receive a percentage of compensation within a few years.
Goodwin talks with Fox News digital numbers before releasing his book Save Sam: The True Story of Americans’ Disappearance in Syria and the Extraordinary Struggle of His Family Taking Him Home. (Contributed by Sam Goodwin)
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"Countries that violate international human rights standards must face consequences, and brave survivors like Sam help ensure that the world does not ignore the atrocities committed by the Assad regime," said Kirby Behre, a member of the Miller & Chevalier litigation division.
“While nothing can completely compensate Sam’s pain, it represents a broader effort to face the responsible person, which represents another step Such a serious injustice.“
Goodwin entered war-torn Syria from Iraq in 2019, part of his visit to every country in the world over the years.
Sam Goodwin (Sam Goodwin)
He lives in the city of Qamishli on the Turkish-Silia border, which he believes is under the control of the American-backed Kurds.
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The former I Division I college hockey player was detained by a man at a roundabout not far from his hotel while at FaceTime with his mother Ann.
“I was taken into the basement of a facility I knew, known as the Syrian Military Intelligence (Branch) 215, a facility known for housing political prisoners, and I was in solitary confinement for 27 days,” he said. Goodwin told Fox News Digital Last year, his book Save Sam: The True Story , which released last year, "Save Sam: The True Story" by the book "Save Sam: The Fall in Syria and the Extraordinary Struggle of His Family to Take Him Home.
“My only interaction was in the morning and evening seconds, when the guard brought bread and boiled potatoes and water.”
Side-by-side view of Sam Goodwin on the Lebanon-Syria border and branch 215 branch. （Sam Goodwin/Fox News Digital Ashley Carnahan）
His lawyer said he suffered from the torture of former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in Chapter 215 and was subjected to an extended trial. At one point, Goodwin's interrogators threatened to hand him over to ISIS after refusing to admit to being a spy.
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His release was guaranteed by then-Lebanon's highest security officer, General Abbas Ibrahim, who was contacted by Goodwin's sister's friend and former college roommate Joseph Abbas.
His family worked tirelessly to bring him home, working with the FBI, the CIA, the State Department, the Hostage Envoy, the Vatican Envoy, the Middle East experts, and others.
Goodwin told Fox News in a statement.
Sam Goodwin (left), General Abbas Ibrahim (middle) and Joseph Abbas (right) meet in Lebanon. (Sam Goodwin)
Miller & Chevalier have made other verdicts on the Arab Republic, including about $50 million in 2023, another U.S. citizen who was illegally arrested, imprisoned and tortured in Syria.
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July, it represents Dr. Majd Kamalmaz's family, A psychotherapist and humanitarian were detained in 2017 at a government checkpoint in Damascus, Syria, accusing the Syrian Arab Republic of abducting, torture and killing him.