Federal judge issues $20M verdict against Syria for torture of US citizen taken captive in 2019

A Washington, D.C.-based law firm secured a judgment of more than $20 million against the Syrian Arab Republic on behalf of Sam Goodwin, a St. Louis native held captive in the country’s notorious prison system for 63 days while on a trip to visit every country in the world.

U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly awarded Goodwin $20,201,620 in damages, about $10 million each in compensatory and punitive damages, in response to a lawsuit filed under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act’s “state sponsor of terrorism” exception.

Roughly half of the judgment is payable through the U.S. Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism Fund, which is financed by sanctions proceeds and other penalties. Depending on the amount of money in the fund, Goodwin could get a certain percentage of compensatory damages over several years.

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“Nations that violate international human rights standards must face consequences, and courageous survivors like Sam help ensure the world does not ignore the atrocities perpetrated by the Assad regime,” said Kirby Behre, a member of Miller & Chevalier’s litigation department and lead counsel for Goodwin.

“While nothing can completely compensate for Sam’s suffering, this represents yet another powerful step forward in the broader effort to confront those responsible for such grave injustices.“

Goodwin entered war-torn Syria from Iraq in 2019 as part of a years-long quest to visit every country in the world.

He stayed in Qamishli, a city on the Turkey-Syria border, which he believed was under the control of the U.S.-backed Kurds.

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The former Division I collegiate hockey player was detained by men in military uniforms at a roundabout not far from his hotel while on FaceTime with his mother, Ann. 

“I was taken into the basement of a facility that I now know is called Syria’s Military Intelligence [Branch] number 215, a facility notoriously known for housing political prisoners, and I was held here in solitary confinement for 27 days,” Goodwin told Fox News Digital last year ahead of the release of his book, “Saving Sam: The True Story of an American’s Disappearance in Syria and His Family’s Extraordinary Fight to Bring Him Home.”

“The only human interaction I had was for a few seconds in the morning and evening when the guards who brought bread and boiled potatoes and water.”

His lawyers said he was tortured at Branch 215 by the now-ousted regime of former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and subjected to prolonged interrogation. At one point, Goodwin’s interrogator threatened to hand him over to ISIS after he refused to admit to accusations of being a spy.

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His release was secured by General Abbas Ibrahim, then Lebanon’s top security official, who was put in contact with the family by Joseph Abbas, the uncle of Goodwin’s sister’s friend and former college roommate.

His family worked tirelessly to bring him home, collaborating with the FBI, CIA, State Department, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, Vatican envoys, Middle East experts and others.

“This judgment is about far more than what happened to me. It’s a stand for anyone who has suffered human rights abuses around the world. I hope it gives other victims the courage to speak up and, above all, serves as a warning that such crimes will not be tolerated or forgotten,” Goodwin told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Miller & Chevalier has secured other judgments against the Syrian Arab Republic, including one for approximately $50 million in 2023 for Kevin Dawes, another American citizen who was illegally arrested, imprisoned and tortured in Syria.

In July, it filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family of Dr. Majd Kamalmaz, a psychotherapist and humanitarian who was detained at a government checkpoint in Damascus, Syria, in 2017, accusing the Syrian Arab Republic of abducting, torturing and killing him.