[Copy of letter follows press release]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 25, 2012
ANTI-TERROR POWERHOUSE SHURAT HADIN TARGETS INMARSAT PLC’S AIDING OF IRAN IN
DEFIANCE OF UNITED STATES TREASURY
NEW YORK, July 25, 2012 – Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center, the organization
that built its reputation on hard-fought legal battles and victories against
terror sponsors, today sent a letter to worldwide mobile satellite company
Inmarsat PLC, warning it against providing prohibited guidance services to
Iranian oil tankers and Iranian military vessels. The warning letter
stressed that Inmarsat's actions would expose the telecommunications giant
to criminal prosecution and civil liability from Americans and others who
suffer as a result of Iran's international sponsorship of terrorism.
In 2008, the United States Supreme Court ruling made the determination that
individuals or companies that materially support terrorist organizations are
liable for the murder and injuries they cause, according to Boim v. Holy
Land Foundation. Fueled by this variety of tenacious judicial support, the
Center submitted a letter [see attachment] alerting Inmarsat’s leadership
that its actions are illegal and serve as a civil liability to American
citizens and to all those across the globe who experience the brunt of Iran’s
sponsorship of terror. On July 12, 2012 the US Treasury announced further
restrictions on US and non-US citizens prohibiting dealing with Iranian oil
and ships. Despite this, Inmarsat, with offices in Miami and Washington
D.C., continues to provide mobile satellite services to Iranian ships.
Shurat HaDin founder, and human rights activist, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner
said, “We will not tolerate Inmarsat’s – or any corporation’s – profiting
from the blood of innocent people. Anything short of immediate and decisive
action on our part would be akin to acceptance. It is a simple issue of
justice: Inmarsat must uphold its legal obligations in compliance with US
Treasury regulations and immediately cease its support for Iran.�
This action represents the latest example of the Law Center’s harnessing of
American and international law to knock down the financial and technological
buttresses of terrorism.
In June 2011, Shurat HaDin brought legal action against Inmarsat for
continuing to support ships seeking to breach Israel's naval blockade of
Gaza. Shurat HaDin underlined that Inmarsat's services provided
communications to the Mavi Marmara and other ships that participated in the
Gaza flotilla of May 2010. The case was filed in a Federal Court in Miami.
The warning letter additionally noted that previous judgments allowed
victims of terrorism to file suit against an oil and gas company, as well as
against its officers, for engaging in business with a state sponsor of
terrorism. Additionally, Darshan-Leitner stressed that by providing aid to
Iran, Inmarsat subjects itself to forfeiture of its assets to judgment
creditors who hold unenforced judgments against the Islamic regime.
Shurat HaDin also states its intention to pursue the company, its officers
and directors for providing aid to terrorists. The stakes could not be
higher. When taking on cases such as these, the Law Center exposes companies
to forfeitures of assets and severe financial penalties.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tel. +972-3-751-4175, media@israellawcenter.org
ABOUT SHURAT HADIN
Shurat HaDin—Israel Law Center is an Israeli based civil rights organization
and world leader in combating the terrorist organizations and the regimes
that support them through lawsuits litigated in courtrooms around the world.
Fighting for the rights of hundreds of terror victims, Shurat HaDin seeks to
bankrupt the terror groups and grind their criminal activities to a halt -
one lawsuit at a time. Established in 2003 and based in Tel-Aviv, Shurat
HaDin works together with western intelligence agencies and volunteer
lawyers around the world to file legal actions on behalf of victims of
terror.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tel. +972-3-751-4175,
Email:
media@israellawcenter.org
============
Israel Law Center
Beit Hakeren, 10 Hata'as St. Ramat Gan
52512, Israel www.israellawcenter.org
Tel: 972 3 7514175 :לט Fax: 972 3 7514174 :סקפ Tel (US): 212 591 0073
July 25, 2012
Andrew Sukawaty – Executive Chairman
Rupert Pearce, Esq. – Director and Chief Executive Officer
Rick Medlock – Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer
John Rennocks – Deputy Chairman
Alison Horrocks – Director, Senior Vice President and Secretary
Sir Bryan Carsberg – Director
Stephen Davidson – Director
Admiral James Ellis Jr (Rtd) – Director
Kathleen Flaherty – Director
Janice Obuchowski – Director
Inmarsat Inmarsat
99 City Road 1101
Connecticut Avenue, NW London EC1Y 1AX
Suite 1200
United Kingdom Washington DC
20036
Via Fax: 44 (0)20 7728 1142 Via Fax: 202 248 5177
Re: Criminal and Civil Liability of Inrmarsat and its Officers and
Directors Relating to Vessels Owned by, Operated by, or Dedicated to the Aid
of The Islamic Republic of Iran
Dear Sir or Madam:
SHURAT HADIN—ISRAEL LAW CENTER, an Israeli organization dedicated to
enforcing basic human rights through the legal system, represents victims of
terrorism in courtrooms around the world. Among our clients are current
judgment creditors of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
It has come to our attention that Inmarsat* is providing satellite services
to oil tankers and other vessels that are owned by, controlled by, or
dedicated to the aid of Iran. On July 12, 2012 the United States Treasury
further updated its lists of designated companies, individuals and property
that American and non-American citizens are prohibited from engaging with.
Many of the vessels listed by the Treasury are being provided satellite
services by Inmarsat. (See http://www.treasury.gov/press-
center/press-releases/Pages/tg1634.aspx, http://www.treasury.gov/resource-
center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20120712.aspx#vessels ).
* All references in this letter to “Inmarsat� include Inmarsat PLC and
Inmarsat Inc., as well as all subsidiaries thereof and all entities
affiliate therewith. Where appropriate, it also includes Inmarsat’s officers
and directors.
Please be advised that providing aid to Iran is illegal and will expose
Inmarsat and its officers and directors to criminal prosecution and civil
liability to American citizens and others who suffer as a result of Iran’s
international sponsorship of terrorism. (See Abecassis v. Wyatt, 785
F.Supp.2d 614 (S.D. Tex. 2011) (allowing a suit to go forward against an oil
and gas company and its officers and directors for engaging in business with
a terrorist state.)) Additionally, by providing aid to Iran, Inmarsat
subjects itself to forfeiture of its assets to judgment creditors who hold
unenforced judgments against Iran. (See 28 U.S.C. § 1610 note and 28 U.S.C.
§ 1610(g) (permitting judgment creditors to execute judgments against the
property of terrorist states); 31 C.F.R. §§ 535.311, 535.312 (defining
“property� to include any “property, real, personal, or mixed, tangible or
intangible, or interest or interests therein, present, future or contingent�
and defining “interest,� as used in this sentence, to mean “an interest of
any nature whatsoever, direct or indirect.�))
Since January 19, 1984, Iran has been and continues to be designated by the
United States, pursuant to Section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act,
Section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act, and Section 620A of the Foreign
Assistance Act, as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. As a result of that
designation, it is subject to numerous restrictions and sanctions under
United States law and subjects those organizations
that do business with it to numerous restrictions. According to the U.S.
State Department, Iran is the world’s “most active state sponsor of
terrorism.� Further, “Iran’s financial, material, and logistic support for
terrorist and militant groups throughout the Middle East and Central Asia
had a direct impact on international efforts to promote peace, threatened
economic stability in the Gulf, and undermined the growth of democracy….
Iran [remains] the principal supporter of groups implacably opposed to the
Middle East Peace Process.�
Moreover, the international economic sanctions regime imposed against Iran
along with the regulations enacted by the United States Treasury and the
European Union are intended to deter the Iranian government from advancing
its nuclear weapons program in violation of international law.
By materially supporting Iran’s oil industry, Inmarsat facilitates Iran’s
terrorist activities and nuclear weapons program. To the extent that
Inmarsat’s satellite support is utilized by Iran’s military agencies,
Inmarsat is a direct participator in Iran’s
terrorist activities and nuclear weapons program.
Provision of communications services constitutes the provision of “material
support or resources� pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2339A. Such provision
therefore subjects Inmarsat to criminal liability pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§
2339A, 2339B, 2339C and to civil liability pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2333 (see
Boim v. Holy Land Foundation,
549 F.3d 685, 690-91 (7th Cir. 2008) (en banc)). The United States Supreme
Court has ruled that material support liability exists without regard to the
criminal or terror- inducing intent of the material supporter. Indeed, gifts
to the purely charitable objectives of a terrorist state or organization are
actionable because, in the words of the Court,
Money is fungible, and when foreign terrorist organizations that have a dual
structure raise funds, they highlight the civilian and humanitarian ends to
which such moneys could be put. But there is reason to believe that foreign
terrorist organizations do not maintain legitimate financial firewalls
between those funds raised for civil, nonviolent activities, and those
ultimately used to support violent, terrorist operations. Thus, funds raised
ostensibly for charitable purposes have in the past been redirected by some
terrorist groups to fund the purchase of arms and explosives.
Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, U.S. , 130 S. Ct. 2705, 2720,
2729 (2010). (Internal citations and quotation marks omitted). The analysis
in Holder is no less accurate (or binding) when applied to the business
activities of a sophisticated sovereign entity that orchestrates terrorist
operations globally. (A copy of Holder is attached to this letter for your
review.)
Moreover, 31 C.F.R. § 535.201, et seq., prohibits all parties (including
non- Americans) from transporting, selling, transferring, exporting, or
dealing with any property (including oil) that Iran has any interest of any
nature whatsoever. The regulations freeze all such property within the
United States and expressly prohibit any action designed to evade the
regulations. Violators are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed the
greater of $250,000 or an amount that is twice the amount of the transaction
that is the basis of the violation and a criminal penalty not to exceed
$1,000,000, twenty years in prison, or both. 31 C.F.R. § 535.701. While
Inmarsat might not operate the vessels that carry Iranian property, Inmarsat’s
services enable those vessels to operate and is thus the proximate cause,
acting pursuant to contract, of the illegal actions of another.
That Iran pretends that its vessels are owned by another sovereign is not
sufficient to avoid liability under the above sections. Nor is it sufficient
if Iran has actually effected legal transfer of its vessels (or reflagging)
if Iran retains effective control over the vessels or if the vessels are
primarily or materially dedicated to the support of Iran.
In light of the above, we request that you immediately provide us written
confirmation that Inmarsat has permanently discontinued the provision of all
services, including satellite and communications services, to Iran, all of
its vessels, all vessels effectively controlled by Iran, and all vessels
primarily or materially dedicated to servicing, aiding, or trading on behalf
of Iran.
Absent such immediate confirmation, we will seek all available relief and
remedies against Inmarsat in all relevant jurisdictions.
Very truly yours,
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, Esq., Director
Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center
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