Washington orders Damascus to pay $300m for death of journalist

The Syrian government has been held liable by a U.S. court for the extrajudicial killing of the Sunday Times war correspondent Marie Colvin and ordered to pay $300m dollars in punitive damages.

In a judgment, the Syrian government was found to have targeted journalists deliberately during the country’s civil war in order to "intimidate newsgathering" and suppress dissent.

Colvin, an American reporter who operated out of London, and Rémi Ochlik, a French photojournalist, were killed in a rocket attack on a makeshift media centre in the rebel-held city of Homs in February 2012.

In her decision, the judge declared that Marie Colvin was "specifically targeted because of her profession, for the purpose of silencing those reporting on the growing opposition movement in the country," the Guardian reported.

As well as awarding $300m in punitive damages, the court also ordered Syria to pay $2.5m in compensation to Colvin’s sister and $11,836 in funeral expenses.