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A legal battle over the seizure of ancient Persian artifacts is underway between victims of a 1997 bombing in Jerusalem and the University of Chicago, the Oriental Institute, and the Iranian government. At stake is an extremely valuable collection of ancient Persian tablets from Persepolis - an integral part of Iran's heritage - that the bombing victims wish to seize and auction off as compensation for Read More >>

It is imperative that the Department of Justice intervenes and prevents the seizure of these valuable relics.

Click here to send a letter to Peter Keisler, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division at the Department of Justice, as well as to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urging them to prevent the seizure.

As political tensions have risen between the United States and Iran, the case has begun to receive international headlines. Manouchehr Mottaki, the Foreign Minister of Iran has threatened to cancel proposed negotiations with the US while Hamid Reza Asefi, the Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, has called on the US to show a quick and serious reaction to the case.

Meanwhile, Iran has called for the United Nations and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to intervene citing what it feels is a violation of several international conventions protecting a nation’s cultural history.

The case has also managed to fuse strange bedfellows as even the United States Justice Department has, on several occasions, expressed interest in the case. Fearful of the dangerous precedent the case could set to allow American assets abroad to be seized, the US Justice Department has submitted a brief arguing against the Illinois Court’s ruling. Discovered in Persepolis in 1933 and lent to the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute for research, these 2,500 year old clay tablets contain invaluable and detailed information about the culture of the people of the Persian Empire.

The dispute at question arose on September 4, 1997, when explosive devices set off in Jerusalem by members of Hamas wounded 200 individuals, including five Americans who have now decided to sue the Iranian government for their alleged role in sponsoring the attack.

The United States District Court in Illinois ruled in September of 2003 that the victims of the bombings had established their right to seek relief and awarded them damages of $423.5 million. Citing their mistrust of the US legal system, an Iranian representative was notably absent in the proceedings which US district Judge Ricardo Urbina cited as a critical reason for his default judgment against Iran.

Since then, David J. Strachman, a Rhode Island lawyer, has asked the Federal Court to confiscate and auction off Iran’s assets in the US, including the aforementioned artifacts to compensate the victims.

The decision has since been appealed and challenged by lawyers defending the University of Chicago and Iran on several grounds which include the invocation of a “sovereign immunity” principle that notes that governments cannot be sued like ordinary citizens.

This argument was denied by Judge Blanche M. Manning in a hearing last month, as she rejected the University of Chicago’s attempts at asserting immunity on Iran’s behalf. After denying the validity of Iran’s claim that it faces “numerous practical barriers” to receiving a fair trial, Judge Blanche confirmed an earlier Court’s decision that only Iran could assert its right to immunity.

Persistent in their defense of Iran, the University of Chicago plans on appealing the decision by August 21st as the case is scheduled to move up to the 7th circuit court. Iran, meanwhile, has filed for a special appearance in the hearing next month which has added a new dimension to this entangled legal dispute.

NIAC has consulted with the Iranian American Bar Association and is considering several different avenues to help ensure that the cultural heritage of Iranians and Iranian Americans are not auctioned off. Compelling the Justice Department to file a brief in support of Chicago University is an initial step in this campaign.