U.S. Judge Dismisses 9/11 Case Against Saudi Arabia

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US judge dismisses 9/11 case against Saudi Arabia

https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/us-judge-dismisses-9-11-case-against-saudi-235841817.html

Al JazeeraAl Jazeera – 25 minutes ago

A US judge has dismissed claims against Saudi Arabia by families of victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks, who accused the country of providing material support to al-Qaeda.

US District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan, New York, said Saudi Arabia had sovereign immunity from damage claims by families of nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks, and from insurers that covered losses suffered by building owners and businesses.

Saudi Arabia was dropped as a defendant nine years ago by a judge who said it was protected by sovereign immunity, but a federal appeals court in December 2013 reinstated it, saying a legal exception existed and the circumstances were extraordinary.

Relatives allege that Saudi agents provided the hijackers who carried out the attack with assistance including helping two of them with accommodation in the US.

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers who carried out the attacks were citizens of Saudi Arabia.

The US government’s 9/11 Commission said in a 2003 report that there was no evidence Saudi Arabia had funded al-Qaeda.

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Judge drops Saudi Arabia from Sept. 11 lawsuit

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/29/judge-drops-saudi-arabia-from-sept-11-lawsuit/

By - Associated Press - Tuesday, September 29, 2015

NEW YORK (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed Saudi Arabia as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Manhattan Judge George Daniels said in a ruling Tuesday that lawyers for the plaintiffs had failed to show facts sufficient to overcome Saudi Arabia’s sovereign immunity.

The judge wrote that evidence would have to show that Saudi Arabia or its officials took actions in the United States to support the terrorist plot. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were citizens of Saudi Arabia.

Among evidence rejected by the judge were recent claims of a man who became known as the “20th hijacker,” Zacarias Moussaoui (zak-uh-REE’-uhs moo-SOW’-ee). Moussaoui claimed a Saudi prince helped him financially.

Lawyers for Saudi Arabia insisted it had nothing to do with the attacks.

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U.S. judge dismisses Sept. 11 victims' case against Saudi Arabia

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/30/usa-sept11-saudi-idUSL1N11Z32T20150930

(Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday dismissed claims against Saudi Arabia by families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, who accused the country of providing material support to al Qaeda.

U.S. District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan said Saudi Arabia had sovereign immunity from damage claims by families of nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks, and from insurers that covered losses suffered by building owners and businesses.

"The allegations in the complaint alone do not provide this court with a basis to assert jurisdiction over defendants," Daniels wrote.

The victims had sought to supplement their case with new allegations to avoid that result, including based on testimony they secured from Zacarias Moussaoui, a former al Qaeda operative imprisoned for his role in the attacks.

Daniels said even if he allowed the plaintiffs to assert those new claims, doing so would be "futile, however, because the additional allegations do not strip defendants of sovereign immunity."

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A lawyer for Saudi Arabia declined comment.

The ruling came just over 14 years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, in which airliners hijacked by al Qaeda militants brought death and destruction upon the United States.

Most of the 19 attackers were Saudi nationals who hijacked planes and flew them into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., and into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers revolted.

The case against Saudi Arabia has had a complicated history, with trial judges including Daniels twice before ruling that Saudi Arabia was entitled to immunity under the federal Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

But in 2013, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York revived the lawsuit, in light of a 2011 decision that allowed similar claims to proceed against Afghanistan.

The case is In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 03-md-01570. (Reporting by Nate Raymond; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)