A U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a default judgment on Wednesday, April 8, against the former Syrian regime in the case of the death of Syrian American doctor Majd Kamalmaz.
The court found the former regime responsible for “the abduction of Majd Kamalmaz, a psychotherapist and humanitarian worker, his arbitrary detention, torture, and death in custody.”
Kamalmaz was arrested in February 2017 at a checkpoint in Damascus while visiting his family and delivering humanitarian aid to people affected by the war. He was 59 at the time.
The Syrian American doctor was held in security facilities notorious for torture. In May 2024, the U.S. government confirmed that he had been killed in detention, shortly after his arrest.
The U.S. court awarded $134.29 million in damages to Kamalmaz’s family, including $67.145 million for the pain and suffering he endured during his detention, and another $67.145 million in punitive damages aimed at deterring and punishing the former regime.
Kirby Behre, lead attorney for the Kamalmaz family, said the ruling marked “a step toward justice for Majd and his family.”
Moaz Mustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force in the United States, said the ruling sends a clear message that “those responsible for detaining, torturing, and killing civilians will be held accountable,” adding that it represents a measure of justice for the countless victims of the former regime.
Mustafa called on the U.S. government to build on the decision by opening a criminal investigation and prosecuting those responsible.
The ruling comes as part of a series of international legal efforts to hold former regime officers and officials accountable, following earlier trials in Britain and Germany against officers and militias loyal to the former regime on charges of crimes against humanity.
On March 27, the trial of a Syrian defendant accused of crimes against humanity, including the killing of protesters, began in Berlin. He is accused of leading a militia loyal to the former regime in the city of Aleppo during the years of the Syrian revolution.
Earlier, on March 11, Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London opened the trial of Salem al-Salem, a former colonel in the former regime’s Air Force Intelligence, on charges of murder and crimes against humanity committed during the years of the Syrian revolution, in what was described as a legal precedent on British soil.
Details of the lawsuit in the United States
On July 22, 2024, the family of Syrian American doctor Majd Kamalmaz filed a lawsuit against the Syrian regime in federal court in Washington, DC, accusing it of abducting, torturing, and killing Majd in one of its prisons, and then attempting to cover up his death.
The Syrian Emergency Task Force quoted Kirby Behre, the family’s lead attorney, as saying, “We have taken the first step toward holding the Syrian regime accountable for its crimes against Majd Kamalmaz, crimes that culminated in his killing.”
According to the attorney, the family filed the case to draw international attention to the Syrian regime’s crimes against thousands of victims and to urge the U.S. government to pursue criminal proceedings.
Fox News reported that the lawsuit sought compensation for wrongful death, assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and imprisonment, under the state sponsor of terrorism exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
The family had sought punitive damages, bringing the total claim to $70 million.
According to Fox News, Majd’s family could receive compensation from the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund if the court ruled in their favor and awarded damages.
The fund can pay claims of up to $20 million per individual, or between $20 million and $35 million per family, in addition to a certain share of any further awards distributed over the years depending on the amount of money available in the fund.
He treated Syrians “without discrimination”
According to members of his family, Majd held no political position and opened a psychiatric clinic in Lebanon to treat Syrians from all sides of the conflict.
Kamalmaz was born in Damascus and moved to the United States at the age of six, where he spent most of his life. He volunteered to treat people affected by disasters in the United States and abroad, and only visited Syria after confirming that he was not wanted by the regime.
In early 2019, his family appealed to the U.S. administration to reveal his fate, saying they did not know whether he was alive, or whether he had access to his diabetes medication.
The news of Majd’s death in the former Syrian regime’s prisons was confirmed by the U.S. State Department on June 12, 2024, although it had received no response from the regime’s government about what had happened to him.
On May 18, 2024, Majd’s daughter Maryam said he had died, based on detailed intelligence she received after meeting with eight “senior U.S. officials.”
She said the officials told her at the time that the information about her father’s death was “nine out of 10” in terms of accuracy.
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