Marie Colvin – Status: Solved

Marie Colvin, a renowned American war correspondent, was killed on February 22, 2012, in Homs, Syria, when Syrian forces shelled a media center. A U.S. court later ruled she was deliberately targeted by the Assad regime and awarded her family \$302 million. She is remembered for her fearless reporting from war zones.

Marie Colvin’s last words/work: “I watched a baby die today. Absolutely horrific. A two-year-old child had been hit. They stripped it and found the shrapnel had gone into the left chest, and the doctor said, ‘I can’t do anything.'”

Journalist Information:

Name: Marie Colvin

Age: 56

Gender: Female

DOB: 12/01/1956

Nationality: American

Last company worked for: The Sunday Times

Family: Marie was survived by her mother, sister, niece, and other relatives

Incident Information:

Date of incident – 22 February 2012

Location of the incident – Homs, Syria

Offense victim of: Assassination

Weapons included – Shelling

Suspect(s) Information:

Name: Bashar al-Assad

Gender: Male

Proof of Targeting the Journalist: Marie Colvin was targeted by the Syrian regime, which used intercepted satellite phone signals, military intelligence, and deliberate shelling to locate and kill her, as confirmed by defector testimony and court-admitted evidence.

Reason for Killing: Marie Colvin was killed because the Syrian regime sought to silence her reporting on its war crimes and prevent international exposure of its attacks on civilians.

Progress of the Case: A U.S. court later ruled that the Assad regime deliberately targeted her to silence her reporting, awarding her family $302 million.

Success Factor in Marie’s Case: The success factor in Marie Colvin’s case was the use of compelling evidence, including defector testimony, intercepted communications, and expert analysis, that proved she was deliberately targeted by the Syrian regime, leading to a landmark U.S. court ruling. It set a precedent for holding authoritarian governments accountable for crimes against journalists.

Read More: https://cja.org/what-we-do/litigation/colvin-v-syria/