Hostage Owed $47 Million From Iran for Torture, Imprisonment

The Islamic Republic of Iran owes Saeed Abedini and his sister Zibandeh Abedini Galangashy $47 million for the torture and beatings Abedini endured in prison between July 2012 and January 2016, a federal judge in the District of Columbia ruled Nov. 13.

Galangashy, who moved from England to the U.S. out of fear Iran was tracking her, was entitled to compensation under a theory of intentional infliction of emotional distress, Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said.

Iran is liable under the terrorism exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which provides ...