1992 US detainment of Iranian Businessman

Hossein Alikhani was an Iranian businessman and author who was abducted in a sting operation by American undercover customs agents in 1992, and released after being held for 130 days.

Alikkhani was the author of "In the Claw of The Eagle: A Guide to U.S Sanctions Against Libya" and "Sanctioning Iran: Anatomy of a Failed Policy", and was an authority on the subject of unilateral trade sanctions and the Iran/Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA). He founded an NGO, the Centre for World Dialogue based in Nicosia, Cyprus. Despite his own troubles in the United States, Alikhani was an avid proponent of improving US-Iran relations and enabled the first meeting between the former Iranian hostage-taker of the United States' embassy in Tehran, Abbas Abdi, and his former hostage, Barry Rosen. The reconciliation meeting in 1998 was organized by the Centre for World Dialogue and took place at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/142917.stm BBC NEWS | Middle East | Tehran embassy reunion pushes peace ] ]

Hossein Alikhani passed away [http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=37956] [http://www.iranian.com/main/2008/man-dialogue] on the 4th March 2008 at the age of 63 after battling acute leukemia. He is survived by his wife Jila Faramarzi and his three children, Helia Alikhani, Emmy Award-winning Borna Alikhani and Dana Alikhani.

Kidnapping

Alikhani was seized in the Bahamas in 1992, accused of violating American sanctions against Libya, and held for 130 days. He seizure was a "kidnapping" because the sanctions did not apply to non-American citizens living outside the United States. [http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0203/p06s01-wome.html Tehran court rules against US] , csmonitor.com] [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2007/04/070413_mf_alikhani.shtml BBC Persian] ]

Alikhani filed a suit in Iran against the United States for "kidnapping" him and, won the first lawsuit by an Iranian against the United States for supporting terrorism. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A27844-2003Apr4?language=printer washingtonpost.com: Pain and Suffering ] ] Iran informed the U.S. government through the Swiss consulate in Tehran. According to the court decision the U.S. government was required to pay $550 million (U.S.) to Alikhani.

As the United States refused to pay the money, Alikhani asked the court to put the American embassy in Tehran on sale. Alikhani expected to make as much as $200 million from the sale, much less than the $550 million awarded him by the Tehran court. [ [http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070413-075033-1540r metimes.com] ] [ http://www.cyprusweekly.com.cy/default.aspx?articleID=15013&heading= ] This was a symbolic victory for Alikhani considering that the sale has not taken place; the US embassy compound is still housed by Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Gary Sick, an Iran expert at Columbia University, says the U.S. made a mistake by allowing Americans to collect such large damages in these uncontested cases. "If we could play that game, others can play that game too," says Mr. Sick, who served at the National Security Council under three presidents.

Independent human rights bodies in the US also took up Alikhani's case much after the case was decided, presenting the case as one of extraorddinary rendition [http://www.chrgj.org/docs/NYU_IHRC_Brief_to_IACHR_Oct_20_2006.pdf] [ http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/2005eng/usa4618.02eng.htm ] [http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/cases/63-05.html]

Notes

ee also

*Iran hostage crisis
*State sponsored terrorism