Family of journalist slain by ISIS sues Syria
MIAMI - The family of slain journalist Steven Sotloff is suing Syria in U.S. court, claiming the government of President Bashar Assad provided support to Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants who carried out the gruesome beheading.
The lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Washington seeks tens of millions in damages from Syria for Sotloff's 2014 killing. It's far from certain Sotloff's South Florida-based family would be able to collect money if they win the case.
Sotloff, a 31-year-old Miami-area native who freelanced for Time and Foreign Policy magazines, vanished in Syria in August 2013 and was not seen again until he appeared in a video released last month that showed fellow journalist James Foley's beheading. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit against an arid Syrian landscape, Sotloff was threatened in that video with death unless the U.S. stopped airstrikes on ISIS.
Later, a video was distributed documenting his death.
The lawsuit contends Syria is liable because it provided financial, material and military support to ISIS. Syria has not yet answered the lawsuit.
Earlier, family members had contended that Sotloff was captured by moderate rebels and "sold" to ISIS for somewhere between $25,000 and $50,000 dollars. Sotloff's family, like many others whose relatives were held captive by ISIS, described their relationship with the Obama administration as "strained.
President Obama met with the Sotloffs in 2015. According to Bernadette Meehan, a National Security Council spokesperson, Mr. Obama expressed his and First Lady Michelle Obama's condolences for Steven's death.