Posted on 07/18/2007 9:47:37 AM PDT by Kaslin
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The widow of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against al Qaeda, other radical groups and Pakistan-based Habib Bank Ltd over the 2002 abduction, torture and murder of her husband.
Mariane Pearl, whose story is told in the recently released movie "A Mighty Heart" starring Angelina Jolie, filed the suit at U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, according to her lawyers.
"Plaintiffs seek to hold responsible those terrorists, terrorist organizations and the supporting charitable and banking organizations for the senseless kidnapping, torture and murder of Daniel Pearl," the suit said.
It seeks an unspecified amount of money, whatever the court "deems appropriate", to prevent the defendants from committing similar acts.
Pearl was the South Asia bureau chief of the Journal when he was kidnapped in Karachi in January 2002 while seeking an interview with suspected Islamist militants. After several days in captivity he was beheaded on video.
Among those sued is Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, or Sheikh Omar, who was convicted and sentenced to death in a Pakistani court for his role in the abduction and murder. Three others were jailed for life.
Another defendant is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a suspected high-ranking al Qaeda leader and September 11 mastermind who is in U.S. custody. Mohammed admitted to a U.S. military tribunal that he beheaded Pearl, the U.S. military said.
Habib Bank Limited is one of Pakistan's biggest banks. The lawsuit alleges the bank and its subsidiaries knowingly conducted financial transactions on behalf of charities linked to extremist groups.
"In doing so Habib and its subsidiaries aided, abetted and provided material support in the form of financial services for the terrorist support organizations," the suit said.
Habib Bank could not be immediately reached for comment.
"NOT the Bin Laden billions!!!"
She’s supposedly a Buddhist.
Was Buddha into litigation as a form of justice?
Your correct.
I like this action by Pearl, it is at least an improvement on her efforts to make nice with the Islamic Cults.
So true!
Best of luck to Mrs. Pearl. Any lawsuit against Al Queda is a good one.
But...
But....
Didn’t daddy say it was BUSH that held the knife to his throat?
No, that was the father of Nicolas Berg who said that
Best of luck to Mrs. Pearl. Any lawsuit against Al Queda is a good one.I agree.
LOL, love it!
What? I thought it was Bush’s fault. Why is she suing the innocent, peace-loving Islamists?
Maybe a court decidion would freeze Saudi Arabian assets until a zillion dollar claim could be collected. The KKK took the biggest hit when the govt went after its financials.
The theory may not be but the practice is just plain stupid. Who are they going to subpoena to appear, bin Laden, al Zawahiri?
If I recall, didn’t the hostages from the 70’s sue Iran? And didn’t the Clinton administration try to block enforcement of the judgment?
Maybe now the Liberals (er Progressives) will fess up that terrorism is not a law enforcement problem. Wishful thinking.
May provide a good lesson for the fools who can think but vote Dem anyway... playing this global war out in the courtrooms is likely to be useless, fruitless, counter-productive, and a waste of time, treasure, and manpower. Hopefully the lesson will carry over.
But the Klan's assets,one would assume,were located within the US.One would also assume that the Klan didn't produce a very big percentage of the world's oil output.
The Pearl family are indeed whacko liberals, but they seem to have had some sane advice. Suing the bank is a brilliant move. And even though some of the defendants are impossible to find, others are not.
I look forward to following this case. If Pearl wins a substantial judgment, it will lead to hundreds or thousands of other lawsuits brought by families of victims. Come to think of it, didn’t 911 families sue Bin Laden?
Pure speculation: The PR value of this case and others that may follow could be great in terms of influencing moderate Muslims who distance themselves from terrorism because it has nothing to do with them. Judgments against their banks might bring the issue closer to home and cause them to take a stand against terrorists. We’ll see.
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.