Posted on 11/15/2003 10:49:58 AM PST by Brian S
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge has dismissed claims against two high-ranking Saudi officials in a lawsuit filed by victims and survivors of the Sept. 11 attacks.
In an opinion issued on Friday, Judge James Robertson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said that U.S. courts had no jurisdiction to rule on the actions of Prince Turki Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, director of Saudi Arabia's Department of General Intelligence, and Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, who is Saudi Arabia's defense minister and holds other positions as well.
In the lawsuit filed by the Sept. 11 victims and relatives of victims, Prince Turki was accused of having an "ongoing relationship" with Osama bin Laden, the suspect masterminded of the attacks in the United States that killed more than 3,000 people. Prince Turki is also accused of transferring money to support the Taliban and al Qaeda.
Prince Sultan was accused of supporting charities that give money to al Qaeda.
"The claims against them for acts allegedly done in their official capacities will be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The claims against Prince Sultan for acts allegedly done in his personal capacity will be dismissed without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction," the judge wrote in his opinion.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.