Lawsuit accusing Saudi Arabia of financing 9/11 attacks will proceed, judge rules
A cloud of smoke rises from a fuel tank fire in Ground Zero in New York City on September 17, 2001, less than one week after the 9/11 attacks. On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled a lawsuit against Saudi Arabia, accusing the government of sponsoring the attacks that killed more than 3,000 people, may proceed. File Photo by Chris Corder/UPI
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March 29 (UPI) -- A federal judge on Wednesday rejected the Saudi Arabian government's attempt to dismiss a lawsuit accusing them of financing Al Qaeda and sponsoring the 9/11 attacks.
The lawsuit demands Saudi Arabia pays billions of dollars in damages to the families of people who died in the attack that killed more than 3,000 people. The Saudis filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that U.S. courts lack jurisdiction over their alleged actions overseas.
But U.S. District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan ruled that the lawsuit may proceed, citing the 2016 Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which Congress passed by overruling a veto by President Barack Obama, who opposed the law because of the possibility U.S. troops and other government entities could be exposed to lawsuits in other nations.
Daniels also based his ruling on the plaintiffs' deposition of Zacarias Moussaoui, an Al Queda operative currently serving six life sentences in U.S. federal prison for his role in the 9/11 attacks.
"According to Plaintiffs, Moussaoui's testimony establishes new facts showing that the Moving Defendants aided Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda by providing funds and other forms of material support in furtherance of the 9/11 Attacks," Daniels wrote.
In addition, Daniels said the plaintiffs may obtain discovery evidence regarding allegations that two Saudi government agents in California provided assistance to several of the 9/11 hijackers.
"We are very pleased to report that Judge Daniels denied Saudi Arabia's motion to dismiss and ruled that the plaintiffs may conduct limited jurisdictional discovery of the Kingdom," attorney Jim Kreindler, who is representing the 9/11 victims' families, said in a statement.
Although Daniels allowed the lawsuit to proceed, he threw out the plaintiffs' allegations that three Saudi banks should be included in the complaint for allegedly transferring funds to aid the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks, citing lack of jurisdiction.
The lawsuit against Saudi Arabia was filed in May 2017 on behalf of the families if 850 people who were killed in the attack and another 1,500 who were injured.
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