Exactly 13 years after Robert Levinson was abducted in Iran, a federal judge found the Iranian government responsible for kidnapping and torturing the former FBI agent who, if he is still alive, is the longest-held American hostage.

“This case, brought by Levinson’s family against the Islamic Republic of Iran for his hostage taking and torture under the terrorism exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, is largely about whether it was the Iranian regime that committed these barbarous acts,” U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly ruled on Monday. “The Court finds, in no uncertain terms, that it was.”

Levinson’s family, including his wife, Christine, and their seven children, filed a lawsuit against Tehran in 2017 after the husband and father had been missing for a decade. They sought $150 million in compensation as well as another $150 million per family member in punitive damages from Iran’s government, for a total of $1.5 billion.

“Thirteen years ago, our beloved husband and father, Robert Levinson, was detained by Iranian authorities while visiting Kish Island, Iran, beginning a nightmare for him and for our family that continues to this day,” the Levinson family said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner. “On this anniversary, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia has found that the Iranian regime is responsible for what happened to him. … We will continue to do everything in our power to seek justice for our husband and father.”

Levinson, who spent nearly three decades working for the U.S. government, including 22 years as an FBI special agent, vanished in an abduction by Iranian authorities from Kish Island. Levinson was originally believed to be in Iran as a private investigator, and the U.S. initially claimed Levinson wasn't working for the U.S. government at the time, though outlets in 2013 revealed Levinson was part of an off-the-books CIA mission when he was captured. No photos or videos have been released of Levinson since 2010 and 2011, and Iran has offered a series of conflicting narratives denying Levinson is in their custody.

“Iran must honor the commitment it has made to work with the United States for Mr. Levinson’s return,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday. “Returning all Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad is President Trump’s top priority. We will work until Bob Levinson and all U.S. hostages and wrongful detainees come home.”

The Levinson family said it is obvious Iran grabbed their father years ago, pointing to a since-scrubbed April 2007 article from Press TV, an Iranian government-backed outlet in Tehran, stating Levinson “has been in the hands of Iranian security forces since the early hours of March 9” and that “the authorities are well on the way to finishing the procedural arrangements that could see him freed in a matter of days.” The judge agreed.

In December, the D.C. court held a two-day evidentiary hearing on the Levinson family’s motion for default judgment, hearing testimony from all eight family members as well as expert witnesses from the FBI and D.C. think tanks.

“Levinson’s family long suspected that the Iranian regime was responsible for his kidnapping,” the judge said on Monday. “And despite Iran’s apparent denials of responsibility for Levinson’s abduction, there are no other plausible explanations in the record for what happened to him.”

The State Department announced in November a $20 million reward for information leading to the safe return of Levinson, in addition to a $5 million reward offered by the FBI.

A few days later, Iran seemed to acknowledge Levinson was alive and in its custody in a short filing to the United Nation’s Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances where the Levinson family had filed a complaint three years ago.

"According to the statement of Tehran’s Justice Department, Mr. Robert Alan Levinson has an ongoing case in the Public Prosecution and Revolutionary Court of Tehran," the U.N. stated.

The Islamic Revolutionary Courts of Iran were established ostensibly to combat foreign threats and push back against efforts to overthrow the government, dealing with allegations of espionage, smuggling, blasphemy, and fomenting revolution. It is common for the regime to convict Westerners or Iranians with ties to the U.S. in secret proceedings then announce them as hostages in negotiations, though, for years, Iran has kept mum about Levinson’s fate.

Iran quickly backtracked, with Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman claiming the day after the filing that Levinson is a “missing person” and “has no judicial or criminal case in any Islamic Republic of Iran court whatsoever.”

President Trump tweeted about Levinson that day, saying, "It would be a very positive step" if Iran released him.

There are concerns about the treatment of U.S. hostages imprisoned in Iran, especially as the country has been hit hard by the coronavirus, with 7,161 confirmed cases along with at least 237 deaths attributable to the disease.

The deadly respiratory illness recently killed a top adviser to Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and has infected Iran's Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi and Iranian Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar. As of last week, an estimated 10% of Iran’s parliament had contracted the COVID-19 virus, a high percentage that raises questions about the accuracy of Iran’s reporting.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran, a controversial dissident group advocating regime change, has claimed that more than 2,000 people have died from coronavirus in the country.

