War correspondent Colvin ‘tracked and killed by Assad regime’, family alleges

Relatives of journalist Marie Colvin have filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming government officials killed her to silence her reporting on the war in Syria. Their lawsuit says Syrian officials launched a rocket attack on a makeshift broadcast studio in a neighborhood of Homs. American-born Colvin, a veteran correspondent for The Sunday Times, died in that attack along with French photojournalist Remi Ochlik. Her family’s lawyer, Scott Gilmore said: “Marie Colvin was killed for exposing the Assad regime’s slaughter of innocent civilians to the world.”

The regime wanted to wage a war without witness against democratic opposition. To do that, they needed to neutralise the media

Lawyer Scott Gilmore

New York-born Ms Colvin, 56, died in February 2012, hours after she told CNN: “It’s a complete and utter lie that they’re only going after terrorists. The Syrian Army is simply shelling a city of cold, starving civilians.” Later that night, an informant’s tip led Syrian military intelligence to her location and the following morning, Syrian artillery fired on the building. The blast also killed several activists. The lawsuit is filed under a federal law allowing victims to sue designated state sponsors of terrorism for the murder of US citizens.

We are seeking truth and justice not just for her, but for thousands of innocent Syrians tortured or killed under the Assad dictatorship

Cathleen Colvin, Marie Colvin’s sister

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