Family of Missing Ex-FBI Agent Levinson Files Suit Against Iran
The family of a former FBI agent turned CIA consultant who vanished in Iran ten years ago filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the government of Iran, saying it had lied to cover up its role in his detention.
The suit seeks damages from Iran for allegedly inflicting emotional distress on the wife and seven children of Robert A. Levinson, a private investigator who was last seen in 2007 on the Iranian island of Kish. He was apparently on an unauthorized CIA mission at the time.
The Iranian government says it does not know what happened to Levinson. The family received a proof of life photo in 2011 showing Levinson in an orange jumpsuit holding a sign saying, "HELP ME." Levinson, whose 69th birthday was on March 10, was apparently kidnapped on March 9, 2007. The suit alleges that the Iranian government is using photographs and video of Levinson in captivity to create the false impression that someone other than the government is holding him.