A Palestinain-American family is suing Rajoub for his part in the torture and death of a family member.
Jibril Rajoub, a Palestinian leader, landed in the US on Wednesday, where he received a cause of action letter on his arrival seeking $250 million in damages and a summons to appear in court for his involvement in the 1995 torture and murder of Azzam Rahim, an American-Palestinian citizen killed by Palestinian security forces.
Israeli media reported Thursday that Rajoub, a senior Fatah official, a former Palestinian terrorist, and currently the head of the Palestine Olympic Committee (POC), landed in New York to speak at an Israel Policy Forum event.
Rajoub is not expected to be arrested or questioned by US authorities.
Rahim’s family, who reside in Texas, filed the lawsuit against Rajoub, who served as the head of the Preventive Security Force (PSF), the Palestinian Authority’s security service, at the time of Rahim’s death.
Rahim was arrested in September 1995 by the PSF and tortured to death in their facility.
According to the prosecution, Rajoub, as the head of the service played a central role in the detention, torture and killing of Rahim.
Rahim was playing cards at Ein Yabrud, near Ramallah, when he was arrested without explanation and imprisoned in Jericho.
Two days later an ambulance arrived at the village of Ein Yabrud with Rahim’s body. The driver told the family he died of a heart attack at a Jericho hospital. However, when the family contacted the hospital, staff told them the victim was dead on arrival.
An autopsy revealed he was severely tortured, but there was no heart damage, Ynet reported.
The lawsuit was originally filed 11 years ago, but was retracted because Rajoub was not present in the US. Rajoub arrived in the US for the first time on Wednesday and the family’s lawyers took advantage of the opportunity.
The State Department has recognized Rahim as a torture victim and demanded Yasser Arafat apologize to the family and investigate the incident.
“This is the first time Rajoub was allowed to enter the United States, and we are determined not to allow him to escape this time. We will bring him to pay compensation to the family, but the US Justice Department must investigate the case and also take the criminal steps against Rajoub,” the family’s lawyers stated, according to Ynet.
By: World Israel News Staff