For years, Gilbert has represented individuals who have been wrongfully detained by foreign governments. We have helped secure the release of Alan Gross (from Cuba), Amir Hekmati (from Iran), Todd Leininger (from Venezuela), and others. We also often pursue claims in U.S. courts against the governments and entities responsible for our clients’ wrongful detention, obtaining over $75 million in judgments and other recoveries.
Most recently, we secured a $24.3 million judgment against the Government of Iran on behalf of Roxana Saberi, an American journalist wrongfully imprisoned in Iran for 100 days in 2009. For Mr. Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine wrongfully imprisoned and brutally tortured for 5 years in Iran, we secured a $63.5 million judgment against the Government of Iran in federal court and are now pursuing compensation from the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (USVSST Fund) on his behalf. We are also currently working with Nizar Zakka, who spent nearly 4 years in an Iranian prison, to hold accountable the company that sent him into harm’s way without adequate warnings, training, or protection.