At a press conference held yesterday at the Santa Monica, CA. law firm of Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP, Sooha Akkad, the widow of Halloween executive producer and noted Syrian director Moustapha Akkad, called attention to the removal of security measures at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Amman, Jordan which might have prevented a November 9, 2005 terrorist attack by members of al-Qaeda at the hotel which took her husband's life.
A resident of Los Angeles, CA., Mrs. Akkad filed a wrongful death lawsuit on September 10, 2007 in Chicago, IL. where defendants Global Hyatt Corporation and Hyatt International Corporation are headquartered. Jeffrey Siegel, Administrator of the Estate of Moustapha Akkad, deceased, and Sooha Akkad vs. Global Hyatt Corporation, et. al., Case Number 2007 L 9489.
Sooha Akkad stated: 'I am still in a state of shock to know that the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Amman, Jordan failed to protect its guests by offering such basic security measures as bomb-sniffing dogs or metal detectors. The Hyatt's negligence cost my dear husband his precious life and has robbed his children of their father's love, guidance and wisdom. We mourn the senseless loss of Moustapha's life each and every day. Our family has filed this lawsuit to hold the Hyatt Hotel chain accountable for its negligence and to send a clear message to hoteliers everywhere that the most important 'amenity' that they can ever offer is public safety.'
'Had the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Amman, Jordan been more vigilant in safeguarding its guests' safety, the fateful events of November 9, 2005 might have been averted,' stated Browne Greene with the Santa Monica, CA. law firm of Greene Broillet & Wheeler which is one of two law firms representing the Akkad Family. 'The Hyatt's negligence is gross and appalling, especially in light of the threat of constant terrorism in the Middle East. We will do everything we can within our civil justice system to see to it that the Akkad Family has its day in court against the Global Hyatt Corporation and Hyatt International Corporation.'
Also participating in today's press conference were Zade Akkad, Geoffrey S. Wells with Greene Broillet & Wheeler and William T. Gibbs with Corboy and Demetrio. Mrs. Akkad alleges in the complaint that Hyatt was negligent in failing to responsibly protect its registered guests from foreseeable criminal attack and violence, failing to provide metal detectors, failing to provide adequate security, and failing to keep unauthorized individuals from accessing the interior of the hotel.
On November 9, 2005, Moustapha Akkad, who lived in Los Angeles, was in Jordan with his wife, Sooha Akkad, to attend a wedding and was staying at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Amman, Jordan. They were in the lobby of the hotel, along with their daughter, Rima Akkad, when a suicide bomber detonated explosives which had been strapped to his body. Akkad was seriously injured and died two days later from his injuries, Rima Akkad was killed instantly, and Sooha Akkad survived the attack but was seriously injured.
At approximately the same time on November 9, 2005, suicide bombers also detonated explosives at the Radisson and Days Inn hotels in Amman. All three suicide bombers were members of al-Qaeda in Iraq and affiliated with Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. In an Internet statement released after the bombings, Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the attacks which resulted in the deaths of 62 people and hundreds of injuries.
Moustapha Akkad was the executive producer of the Halloween horror films and produced and directed the movie, The Message, starring Anthony Quinn, about the Prophet Muhammad. Considered to be Syria's greatest film director, he was scheduled to go to Syria after the wedding in Jordan to be honored by the Damascus International Theater Festival.
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