U.S. Federal Court Finds Assad Regime Responsible for Torture of U.S. Citizen
Washington, DC, August 8, 2025 – Today, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found Syria’s Assad regime responsible for the torture of Syrian-American Obada Mzaik, who was arrested and tortured while visiting Syria in 2012. “I brought this case to seek justice for all the Syrians who have been victims of Assad’s prisons,” said Obada Mzaik. “Today’s judgment recognizes not only what I endured, but the suffering of too many Syrians. This hearing not only acknowledged their suffering, it set a precedent for future accountability efforts. Former detainees, their families, and the families of the disappeared continue to be impacted by these crimes, and will require ongoing support and reparations.” Obada is represented by the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) and Freshfields US LLP.
Obada, an American citizen, was detained in the Mezzeh Military Airport, where he was tortured until his family secured his release.
Obada’s arbitrary arrest and torture was not an isolated incident. During President Bashar al-Assad’s rule over Syria, the government enacted an extensive system of mass arrest, detention, interrogation, torture and murder. Syrian and international organizations have documented the torture-related deaths of roughly 15,000 individuals at the hands of the Assad regime since 2011 and the enforced disappearances of nearly 100,000 more. While the regime collapsed in December 2024, the fates of many who disappeared into Assad’s prisons are still unknown.
The court’s decision today is based on sworn testimony of more than 30 individuals who had been detained and tortured at the Mezzeh Military Airport and the expert reports of five international experts. In addition, the court heard live testimony from torture survivors and an expert on psychological torture. “Today’s ruling by a U.S. court is an important formal acknowledgment of the Assad regime’s brutal system of torture,” said Ruth Montiel, an attorney at Freshfields US LLP.
“Following Assad’s ouster, thousands of people were released from the regime’s vast network of prisons. However, over 100,000 detainees reportedly remain unaccounted for,” said CJA Senior Staff Attorney Daniel McLaughlin. “Today’s judgment is a reminder that it is critical that the new government in Syria and its international partners have important roles to play in advancing work aimed at discovering what has happened to those who disappeared in Assad’s prisons and supporting the detainees who survived.”
The Court will issue the reasons for its judgment and determine damages at a future date.
More information
More information on the case, including evidence from former detainees and international experts, can be found here. Learn more about CJA’s work on human rights in Syria here. Answers to frequently asked questions about the case can be found here.
For press inquiries, please contact:
Daniel McLaughlin: dmclaughlin@cja.org
About the Center for Justice & Accountability and its Partners
The Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) is a United States-based international human rights organization dedicated to working with communities impacted by torture, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious human rights abuses to seek truth, justice, and redress using innovative litigation and transitional justice strategies.
Freshfields is a global law firm with a long-standing track record of anticipating change, setting new standards and shaping the future of law. We successfully support the world’s leading national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments on complex and business-critical mandates when it matters most. Our 2,800-plus lawyers and other legal professionals are steadfast champions of our clients and we are proud to be recognized as a top-tier leader in the practice areas most important to clients around the world.
CJA owes a huge debt of gratitude to the coalition of justice-seeking organizations and individuals who contributed immeasurably to this case, including the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) and the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC), which facilitated the written testimony of 21 and 8 former detainees, respectively. Please see our Partners page to learn more about all of our partners’ work.