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A US diplomatic safety official is suing the State Division and Secretary Antony Blinken personally for what he says was retaliation and discrimination on account of the accidents he suffered from the so-called Havana Syndrome.
The federal declare by Mark Lenzi, a member of the Diplomatic Safety Service (DSS), is the primary recognized lawsuit towards the US authorities in relation to the mysterious situation, first reported by US spies in Cuba in 2016.
His 46-page grievance, filed within the Japanese District of Virginia, cites the 2020 scientific examine commissioned by the State Division to say the “identified accidents from this affliction are more than likely as a consequence of pulsed microwave radio frequency radiation.”
Lenzi and his household allegedly started experiencing “sudden and unexplained psychological and bodily signs, together with complications, lightheadedness, nausea, nosebleeds, sleeplessness, and reminiscence loss” in November 2017, whereas dwelling in Guangzhou, China. When he complained, the lawsuit says, a safety engineer carried out a perfunctory microwave detection sweep with an “antiquated” system – and the DSS advised him off for “being too emotional” a few “safety gear challenge.”
He was recalled to the US, the place he has stayed ever since, denied promotion or alternative to use to abroad postings, together with well-paid ‘hardship’ responsibility reminiscent of Serbia or Azerbaijan, the grievance says. Lenzi additionally claims the State Division had him bear a psychiatric analysis after he despatched an unclassified e-mail warning colleagues in regards to the potential menace to their well being and security from the ‘Havana Syndrome’.
Lenzi is alleging discrimination and illegal retaliation, and asking for six years of credit score towards his retirement, reinstatement to abroad responsibility, front and back misplaced pay with curiosity, in addition to authorized charges, and “monetary compensation for emotional misery, ache, and struggling.”
The State Division declined to touch upon the present litigation, and cited “privateness issues and safety causes” for not answering questions on embassy operations.
Whereas Lenzi alleges that the State Division has sought to downplay his accidents, the Biden administration has vastly expanded the scope of investigating the alleged directed vitality assault, whereas the US media have attributed it to Russia or China, with out proof.
Cuban scientists have argued there was no scientific proof for the ‘syndrome’. A Berkeley College researcher mentioned again in 2019 that the sounds allegedly focusing on US diplomats and spies had been the mating calls of a selected species of cricket. A November 2018 report by an knowledgeable advisory panel of scientists referred to as JASON, categorized till just lately, attributed the syndrome to a mixture of crickets and group psychosis.
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