A federal judge on Wednesday sided with the US government and said seized Iraqi assets could not be used to compensate 17 Americans held as prisoners of war during the 1991 Gulf War.
US District Judge Richard Roberts agreed with government lawyers who argued that with the ouster of Saddam Hussein, the law that would have allowed the prisoners to dip into frozen Iraqi assets for their compensation no longer applied.
Earlier this month Judge Roberts awarded $653 million in compensatory damages and $306 million in punitive damages to 17 prisoners of war and their families who sued Saddam, the Iraq government and the Iraqi intelligence service for pain and suffering.
Iraq never responded to the lawsuit filed in April 2002. Attorneys for the prisoners wanted their clients to be paid from blocked Iraqi assets held by the US government. But Justice Department officials said the funds were to be used to rebuild Iraq.
In addition, the Justice Department said President George W. Bush in May made "inapplicable any provision of law that applies to countries that have supported terrorism." The law under which the prisoners were awarded the money allows for compensation for victims of state-sponsored terrorism.
"The (government's) position that the POWs are unable to recover any portion of their judgment as requested, despite their sacrifice in the service of their country, seems extreme," Judge Roberts wrote in his ruling.