Bloomington veteran waiting for decision

In August of 1990, Saddam Hussein issued an order prohibiting all U.S. citizens from leaving Iraq or Kuwait. At the time, Richard Clay, an electrical engineer from Bloomington, was working in Kuwait for business. Clay, along with over 200 people, was beaten and interrogated while being held hostage in Kuwait.\nIn September of 1990, Hussein ordered the release of women and children who were being held while the men, including Clay, were held until December of that same year. Now, over 13 years later Clay and many others are trying to receive what they call justice.\nUntil 1996, a case of this nature could not be brought to court. Originally, under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, countries engaging in terrorist acts overseas could not be sued in United States courts. According to The Iraq Case Web site, "In 1996 Congress amended the FSIA to permit American citizens to sue terrorist states when they commit or sponsor certain specified acts of terrorism against American citizens."\nIn 1999, 10 American citizens who were held hostage filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the former Iraq regime. The lawsuit, Hill v. The Republic of Iraq, wanted to collect damages from Iraq's frozen funds, which are controlled by the United States. Later, 169 other people came forward with their stories and were added as plaintiffs in the case. Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson issued his decision in the case on Dec. 5, 2001, finding Iraq liable for acts of hostage taking and false imprisonment.\nDefault judgments against Iraq awarded compensatory damages totaling more than $94 million for all 179 plaintiffs. Jackson also awarded punitive damages against Saddam personally in the amount of $300 million. That same month, another case, Vine v. The Republic of Iraq, was filed in the same court allowing more plaintiffs to come forward. \nOn Aug. 5, Clay and his wife Claudia contacted Daniel Wolf, the lead counsel for the Vine case. \n"It was word of mouth," Wolf said of Clay and others contacting him. "More and more people came to us over time." \nClay will soon be added to the Vine case.\nDuring his capture, two of Clay's three children were in high school and the other just in grade school. \n"It was a difficult time for us, as it was for everyone involved," Claudia said. \nClay had been in Kuwait for over four years. Claudia said when Clay was captured, he was forced to leave behind all his belongings. \n"He lost everything," Claudia said. "When in war, you don't think about material objects. You just leave it behind and go." \nClaudia said receiving justice is not just about the money. \n"All we want is justice for everyone, not only us," Claudia said. "We all went through it, some harder than others, but we all deserve justice." \nThe Iraq Case Web site reports that in March, all 179 compensatory damage awards in the Hill case were paid from Iraqi government accounts that had been frozen by the U.S. Government. But the $300 million punitive damage award against Saddam has not been paid. \nThe outcome of the Vine case, and whether Clay and his family will find the justice they seek, is still unknown.\nWolf said there are some complications in finding answers.\n"The frozen funds have been confiscated by the U.S. government for reconstruction in Iraq and will be transferred," Wolf said.\nHe also said there is a reasonable chance to collect money from the case. \n"Congress could fund the money and Iraq would have to reimburse them," Wolf said. "This case will take longer than the Hill case because of the current complications with the war earlier this year."\n-- Contact staff writer Monica Dix at mcdix@indiana.edu.