US House allows 9/11 victims to sue Saudi, bill heads to Obama

Washington, Sep 9 (AFP) The House of Representativespassed legislation today that would allow victims of the 9/11attacks and their relatives to sue foreign governmentssuspected of backing acts of terrorism against the US. The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act – approvedin the House by unanimous voice vote some four months afterits Senate passage – is strongly opposed by the government ofSaudi Arabia, the home nation of 15 of the 19 hijackers in theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks. It now heads to President Barack Obama’s desk, just daysbefore the 15th anniversary of 9/11. The White House has signaled its opposition to the measurebecause it would essentially waive the doctrine of sovereignimmunity that protects nation states from civil suits orcriminal prosecution. "This legislation would change long-standing,international law regarding sovereign immunity. And thepresident of the United States continues to harbor seriousconcerns that this legislation would make the United Statesvulnerable in other court systems around the world," WhiteHouse spokesman Josh Earnest said back in May, after theSenate unanimously approved the bill. The measure would allow 9/11 families to pursue cases infederal court against foreign governments, notably SaudiArabia, and demand compensation if such governments are provento bear some responsibility for the attacks. Under current law, victims of terrorism can only suecountries officially designated by the State Department assponsors of terrorism, such as Iran and Syria. No official Saudi complicity in the Al-Qaeda attacks hasbeen proven, and the kingdom has never been formallyimplicated. It is not a designated sponsor of terrorism. In February Zacarias Moussaoui, dubbed the 20th hijacker,told US lawyers that members of the Saudi royal family donatedmillions of dollars to Al-Qaeda in the 1990s. The Saudi Embassy denied Moussaoui’s claims. But hisaccusations revived debate over whether the Obamaadministration should release a still-classified 28-pagesection of the 9/11 Commission Report. The documents were declassified and released in mid-July.They showed that while the United States probed links betweenthe government of Saudi Arabia and the 9/11 attacks, it foundmultiple suspicions but no proven ties. (AFP)ABH