7 facts on the lawsuit against Saudi Arabia over 9/11 attacks

By Team Asianet Newsable | First Published Mar 22, 2017, 1:25 PM IST

The document details how officials from Saudi embassies supported hijackers Salem al-Hazmi and Khalid Al-Mihdhar 18 months before 9/11
In 2010, Kreindler had sued Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba for their alleged involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008

The legal action, filed in federal court in Manhattan, details the involvement by Saudi officials who are said to have aided some of the hijackers before the attacks.

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Here are the details of this lawsuit:

#Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals and three of them had previously worked for the kingdom.

#The document details how officials from Saudi embassies supported hijackers Salem al-Hazmi and Khalid Al-Mihdhar 18 months before 9/11. It stated that the officials allegedly helped them find apartments, learn English and obtain credit cards and cash. In short, they helped the terrorists learn the landscape of the city.

#The lawsuit also produces evidence that officials in the Saudi embassy in Germany supported lead hijacker Mohamed Atta. It claims that a Saudi official was in the same hotel in Virginia with several hijackers the night before the attacks.

# The lawsuit has been filed by aviation law firm Kreindler & Kreindler claims some of the hijackers had special markers in their passports, identifying them as al-Qaida sympathisers.

#The lawsuit also states that the Saudi royal family were aware that funds from Saudi charities were being funneled to al-Qaida.The Saudi government, however, has denied any involvement in the attacks. But in an interview to Wall Street Journal, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid al-Falih said his government was “not happy” about the victims’ law and warned there could be consequences felt abroad as a result of Jasta.

#This lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, was brought by families of around 800 victims as well as approximately 1,500 individuals who suffered injuries after responding to the site of the attacks in New York.

#This is not the first time a lawsuit has been filed against Saudi Arabia. Back when Barack Obama was President of USA, he had vetoed the September 11 Bill or the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism (JASTA), the American Congress overrode the veto. On September 30, 2016 a woman widowed when her husband was killed at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001 became the first American to sue the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Washington DC District Court.

In the lawsuit she alleges that "at all material times, Saudi Arabia, through its officials, officers, agents and employees, provided material support and resources to Osama bin Laden (“bin Laden”) and Al Qaeda. The support provided by Saudi Arabia to bin Laden and Al Qaeda assisted in or contributed to the preparation and execution of the September 11th attacks and the extrajudicial killing of Patrick Dunn."

Stephanie Ross DeSimone had filed this lawsuit and she was two months pregnant when her husband, Navy Commander Patrick Dunn was killed. She was suing for wrongful death and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Did you know?

In 2010, Kreindler had sued Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba for their alleged involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008. The US Government has told the court that ISI has the necessary immunity as being part of the Government of Pakistan. The Pakistani government was not sued in the lawsuit.

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