Civil Cases

The SETF team has worked closely with American survivors of detention and torture in Syria and with families of Americans who died while detained by the Assad regime. Over the years, we were able to connect four plaintiffs to law firms who worked pro bono on their behalf to file civil lawsuits against the Assad regime.

In 2021, attorneys filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of Kevin Dawes, an American citizen who was arrested and brutally tortured for almost four years by the Assad regime before his release in 2016. In October 2023, a US District Court Judge in DC awarded Mr. Dawes a $50 million judgement.

In 2022, a civil lawsuit was filed on behalf of Obada Mzaik, a Syrian-American who was detained and torture at Mezzeh Military Hospital in 2012. In August 2025, a US District Court in Washington, DC found the Assad regime responsible for the torture inflicted on Mr. Mzaik.

In 2023, a civil lawsuit was filed on behalf of Sam Goodwin, an American citizen who was kidnapped and detained by the Assad regime for over two months in 2019. In May 2025, a US District Court Judge awarded Mr. Goodwin a $20 million judgement.

In 2024, a civil lawsuit was filed on behalf of the family of Majd Kamalmaz, a Syrian-American psychotherapist who was arrested, detained, tortured and killed by the Assad regime in 2017. In March 2026, a US District Court Judge awarded the Kamalmaz family a $135 million judgement.