Some 600 relatives of Sept. 11 victims filed a lawsuit seeking more than US$100 trillion from the Sudanese government and Saudi officials, banks and charities, charging they financed Osama bin Laden's network and the attacks on the US.
The 15-count federal lawsuit, modeled after action filed against Libya in the Pan Am Flight 103 disaster, seeks to cripple banks, charities and some members of the Saudi royal family as a deterrent to terrorist financing schemes.
But the suit also is therapeutic for relatives of the victims, who acknowledge they face long odds of collecting anything.
"It's not the money. We want to do something to get at these people," said Irene Spina, whose daughter, Lisa Trerotola, 38, perished in the World Trade Center.
"There's nothing else we can do," she said.
"This is the right thing to do," said Matt Sellito, father of Matthew Carmen Sellito, 23, who also died in the World Trade Center.
"If the odds are stacked against us, we will beat them," Sellito said.
The 258-page complaint, filed electronically Thursday in US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, seeks "an amount in excess of US$100 trillion" and charges the defendants with racketeering, wrongful death, negligence and conspiracy.
Lead attorney Ron Motley said the money would likely come largely from assets held by the defendants in the US.
He said the plaintiffs were after more institutions than those whose assets already have been frozen by the US and other governments.
The complaint also ignores US President George W. Bush's administration's delicate diplomatic balancing act with Saudi Arabia by bluntly blaming the kingdom's officials and institutions for the attacks.
"That kingdom sponsors terrorism," Motley told reporters at a news conference. "This is an insidious group of people."
The complaint names more than seven dozen defendants, including the government of Sudan, seven banks, eight Islamic foundations and three Saudi princes.
Those listed include Princes Mohammed al-Faisal and former intelligence chief Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Defense Minister Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, Khalid bin Salim bin Mahfouz of the National Commercial Bank and the Faisal Islamic Bank.
Officials from the Saudi Embassy did not immediately return a call for comment.
Bush's administration has been careful not to blame the Saudi government for the attacks in its drive build a coalition for its war against terrorism.
Prince Saud, the Saudi foreign minister, said last week that the 70-year-old US-Saudi alliance was as solid now as before the Sept. 11 attacks on the US.
He said bin Laden, who was stripped of Saudi citizenship and is accused of directing the al-Qaeda attacks, had intended to drive a wedge between the two countries when he chose 15 Saudi citizens to be among the 19 hijackers.
Several plaintiffs, fighting tears, said they would dedicate the rest of their lives to punishing those who financed the attacks.
"We will succeed because we have the facts and the law on our side," said Thomas Burnett Sr, whose son, Thomas Burnett Jr, led a passenger revolt against the hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 and died when it plummeted to the ground.
"We have justice and morality on our side," he added.
In May, lawyers announced that a group of Libyans had negotiated a deal that would give US$10 million each to the families of those killed when Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988.
But Libya insisted the group did not have authorization from the government to negotiate.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College