Beirut Bombing Victims To Leverage Democratic National Convention To Appeal To President Obama For Unfettered Justice

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Survivors and families who lost loved ones in the 1983 Beirut bombing will sponsor ads during the Democratic National Convention, suggesting that President Obama can stop almost 30 years of injustice by ordering the Justice Department to cease working with Iranian lawyers to keep Iran from paying court ordered judgments for its role in the bombing.

Beginning Monday, the ads will appear in The Washington Post, on Politico 44 and in a shared edition of The Charlotte Observer and Politico.

The ads will outline a series of legal obstacles the Justice Department has used in several U.S. Courts to stop the survivors and families from forcing Iran to pay a $2.65 billion judgment after a U.S. District Court judge found Iran liable for planning and executing the bombing, which killed 241 American servicemen and injured many more.  The Justice Department maintains that making Iran pay the judgment would impinge on the ability of the United States to conduct foreign policy. The ads suggest that President Obama can stop that practice.

Viewers to Politico 44, a Web page devoted to news about President Obama, will also be able to click on a short video, which will provide the history of the bombing and the highlights of the saga the families have experienced in seeking justice against Iran.

"So far, we've allowed Iran to get away with murder in Beirut. That's simply not right. President Obama can stop that," said Lynn Smith Derbyshire, the National Spokesperson for the Beirut Families.

Mrs. Derbyshire, whose brother, Marine Captain Vincent Smith, was killed in the bombing, is featured in the video.

"We commend the President's firm stance on terrorism, and we believe he wants to hold Iran responsible for the Beirut bombing and other acts of Iranian terrorism that have killed and injured Americans from all around the country. He has the opportunity to do that by allowing us unfettered justice in holding Iran accountable," Mrs. Derbyshire said.

"It seems completely illogical to impose economic and political sanctions on Iran on one hand and to essentially protect more than $2 billion in Iranian assets on the other. That is basically what's happening here, and again, President Obama can stop it," she concluded.

The ads and video, produced by Sam Theurer Visuals, will refer visitors to www.holdiranaccountable.com, a website that will include a timeline of legislative and legal events focused on obtaining justice from Iran since the bombing in 1983. The website will also include Justice Department court filings designed to stop the survivors and families from collecting their judgment.

This release is distributed by Saylor Company Public Relations Counsel under the authority and direction of Thomas Fay, Esq., legal counsel.

SOURCE Saylor Company Public Relations Counsel under the authority and direction of Thomas Fay, Esq., legal counsel