U.S. Court Holds Syria Responsible for Journalist Colvin’s Death, According to Reuters

By Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. judge has determined that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is responsible for at least $302.5 million in damages due to its involvement in the 2012 death of prominent American journalist Marie Colvin, who was reporting on the Syrian civil war at the time.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson stated in a ruling made public on Wednesday that the Syrian government “engaged in an act of extrajudicial killing of a United States national.”

Colvin, alongside French photographer Remi Ochlik, lost their lives in the besieged city of Homs while covering the ongoing conflict in Syria.

The lawsuit initiated by Colvin’s family in 2016 accused Assad’s officials of intentionally targeting rockets at a makeshift broadcast studio where Colvin and other journalists were stationed.

Judge Jackson emphasized that “a targeted attack on a media center hosting foreign journalists that resulted in two fatalities and multiple injuries … is an unconscionable act.” She ruled that while punitive damages of $300 million were assigned, compensatory damages would be calculated at a later date.

A biographical film about Colvin, titled “A Private War” and featuring British actress Rosamund Pike, was released last year, garnering renewed interest in her legacy.