Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2015 9:53:31 GMT 7
Nearly 35 years after their release, Americans taken hostage at the US embassy in Tehran in 1979 are finally being offered compensation.
According to Agence France Presse, the 52 hostages who were held for 444 days (and one who was released early for health reasons) could receive up to $4.4 million each, or $10,000 for each of the days they were held. Thirty-seven are still alive today. Spouses and children of deceased former hostages are eligible for payments of up to $600,000.
The provision, part of a sweeping year-end spending bill passed Dec. 18 by the US Congress, is a welcome turn for the former hostages after a 2012 US Supreme Court ruling rejected their appeal in a long-running battle for compensation from the US government. The Carter-era agreement that freed the hostages in 1981, known as the Algiers Accords, promised the Iranian government immunity from suits associated with the hostage-taking. These new funds will be distributed by the US government from a $8.9 billion fine placed on bank BNP Paribas, for violation of sanctions against Iran, Sudan and Cuba. About $1 billion of that fine, according to The New York Times, will aid victims of terrorism.
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qz.com/581869/35-years-after-release-survivors-of-the-us-iran-hostage-crisis-could-receive-4-4-million-each/
According to Agence France Presse, the 52 hostages who were held for 444 days (and one who was released early for health reasons) could receive up to $4.4 million each, or $10,000 for each of the days they were held. Thirty-seven are still alive today. Spouses and children of deceased former hostages are eligible for payments of up to $600,000.
The provision, part of a sweeping year-end spending bill passed Dec. 18 by the US Congress, is a welcome turn for the former hostages after a 2012 US Supreme Court ruling rejected their appeal in a long-running battle for compensation from the US government. The Carter-era agreement that freed the hostages in 1981, known as the Algiers Accords, promised the Iranian government immunity from suits associated with the hostage-taking. These new funds will be distributed by the US government from a $8.9 billion fine placed on bank BNP Paribas, for violation of sanctions against Iran, Sudan and Cuba. About $1 billion of that fine, according to The New York Times, will aid victims of terrorism.
Continues
qz.com/581869/35-years-after-release-survivors-of-the-us-iran-hostage-crisis-could-receive-4-4-million-each/
