Families of Sept 11 victims sue Saudi Arabia in US court over attacks

NEW YORK: Hundreds of relatives of individuals killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks have sued Saudi Arabia in US court, seeking to take advantage of a law passed by Congress last year that allows victims of such attacks on US soil to sue state sponsors.

The lawsuit fi led on Monday in federal court in Manhattan is the latest effort to hold Saudi Arabia liable for the al- Qaeda attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

For years, US law granting foreign nations broad immunity from lawsuits scuttled attempts by Sept. 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia in New York. In 2015, US District Judge George Daniels dismissed claims against the kingdom from Sept. 11 families, saying he did not have jurisdiction over a sovereign nation.

But last fall, Congress overwhelmingly passed the ‘Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act’ permitting such lawsuits to proceed. — Reuters