Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center Sues The Warwick Hotel For Hosting Iranian Despot Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Ground breaking civil rights group calls for The Warwick – and all New York Hotels – to reject terrorism dollars in favor of justice

Demands Restitution for unpaid $12 million Federal Court Judgment Issued in 2011

NEW YORK, Sept. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center, served Manhattan's luxurious Warwick Hotel with a lawsuit yesterday for agreeing to host Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his visit to the United Nations General Assembly on the week of September 24th.

The motion being filed in Manhattan's federal court demands The Warwick hand over any money they receive from Iran or alternatively, exclude Ahmadinejad from his hotel room and hand the keys over to their client Stuart Hersh, an American citizen who was severely injured in a 1997 Hamas suicide bombing in Jerusalem. In 2003, a federal court found Iran liable for the attack and ordered them to pay Hersh $12 million, plus interest. Hersh alleged that Iran had provided material support and resources to the terrorist group. To date, that judgment remains unpaid. This current enforcement proceeding seeks to satisfy a portion of the judgment.

"It is insult enough that Ahmadinejad will receive U.S. security personnel during his stay in Manhattan, subsidized by American tax dollars. But that outrage is eclipsed by the idea that this craven outlaw will reside in the lap of luxury at a five-star hotel while his victims still suffer from his underwriting of violent, illegal acts. Give him a cot at the UN or perhaps the other murderers at the Libyan Mission will give him a bed," stated Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, founder of the Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center.  "Our client, Stuart Hersh, continues to suffer from the suicide bombing that Iran financed in Jerusalem nearly fifteen years ago. We remain committed to getting Mr. Hersh, not Ahmadinejad, the star-studded treatment. The Warwick's pursuit of profit is unconscionable."

Iran is designated by the U.S. State Department as a state sponsor of terrorism and is liable for numerous terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens. Several of Manhattans most elite hotels refused Ahmadinejad accommodations because of this; the San Carlos Hotel, The Loews Regency Hotel and the Preferred Hotel Group, which includes The Trump SoHo New York, Trump International Hotel & Tower New York, the Kitano New York, the Sherry-Netherland, and the Lombardy. Ahmadinejad and his personal are offered free accommodations at the Iranian Mission to the United Nations, where they refuse to stay.

About Shurat HaDin
Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center is an Israeli based civil right organization and world leader in combating the terrorist organizations and the regimes that support them through lawsuits litigated in courtrooms around the world. Fighting for the rights of hundreds of terror victims, Shurat HaDin seeks to bankrupt the terror groups and grind their criminal activities to a halt - one lawsuit at a time.

About Nitsana Darshan- Leitner
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner is an Israeli attorney, human rights activist and the founder of Shurat HaDin Israeli Law Center. She built her reputation through legal activism, especially lawsuits and legal actions brought on behalf of terror victims against terrorist groups, their leaders and financial patrons. In addition, her law office has brought civil actions against numerous banks and financial institutions she accuses of aiding and abetting Islamic and Arab groups engaged in terror attacks.

Like us on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/QXxjBG

SOURCE Shurat HaDin—Israel Law Center