Saudi Arabia to the 9/11 dock: Federal judge rejects request to dismiss lawsuit against it

A federal judge rejected a request by Saudi Arabia to dismiss a lawsuit against it over 9/11 brought by victims of the attack and their families.

"For the families, this is the most consequential step yet toward accountability and justice," celebrated Brett Eagleson, president of the 9/11 Justice organization. The judicial endorsement will allow the country, after more than 20 years of litigation, to be brought to the bench.

"We have presented overwhelming evidence that the Kingdom is complicit in the 9/11 attacks, and a federal judge agrees," Eagleson continued. "Now, we are prepared to present even more evidence showing that Saudi Arabia was complicit in the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 innocent Americans."

In 2006, Congress passed a law (the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act or JASTA) that expanded the cases in which states, which usually enjoy immunity, could be sued. With both Republican and Democratic votes, lawmakers even overrode a veto by then-President Barack Obama against the rule for the first time.

JASTA opened the door for victims of the 9/11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for any role it played in the attacks. Although Riyadh protested its application in this lawsuit, Judge George B Daniels of the Southern District of New York ruled that the rule applies to the case.

Although he did not decide on the merits of the suit, he did write that it was "more likely than not" that there was a link between a man connected to the Saudi government, Omar al-Bayoumi, and the terrorists who carried out the attack.

However, he acknowledged that "some of the disputed facts cannot be resolved at this stage of the litigation." For example, although he states that it is an undisputed fact that drawings of a plane, notes and suspicious numbers were found in Bayoumi's house, the interpretation of these is very different in the eyes of the defendants and the plaintiff.

Differences that will have to be settled at a later stage: "Weighing the evidence or assessing witnesses' credibility will need to take place at trial."

Access to the court decision