New York, NY - Iranian Jews Sue Ex-President Khatami

New York, NY - A group of Jewish Iranians who say their missing relatives were kidnapped and tortured by the Iranian government have sued the country's former president, delivering the summons to him directly while he was visiting the United States.
The seven families, say their relatives were arrested at different times between 1994 and 1997 as they tried to leave Iran by crossing into Pakistan.

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, claims former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami instituted policies that prevented the relatives from having trials and did not give family members information about where they were.
The lawsuit mentions 12 missing Jewish Iranians, all male, some of whom were teenagers at the time of their disappearance.

Khatami, who recently was granted a special visa to enter the United States, was handed copies of the complaint while attending a reception in Arlington, Va., according to representatives of the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs are suing under the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victim Protection Act, special laws that allow non-U.S. citizens to sue in American courts, according to one of their lawyers, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, who is in Jerusalem. The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of compensation.