Iran Must Pay $34.8 Million to Family of Slain Journalist

A federal judge ordered Iran to pay $34.8 million to the family of a journalist and outspoken government critic who was tortured and purportedly committed suicide while living under house arrest in Tehran.

Judge John D. Bates of the US District Court for the District of Columbia awarded $17.4 million in compensatory damages and an equal amount in punitive damages to the wife and daughters of Siamak Pourzand, who spent a decade in Iranian prisons and under home arrest despite pleas for fair treatment and release by international human rights agencies. In an extensive opinion released Friday, Bates held Iran ...