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Family members of 9/11 victims celebrated on Wednesday a court victory they said brings them one step closer to holding Saudi Arabia accountable for its alleged role in the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Brett Eagleson, whose father, John, was killed in the attacks, said during a press conference in New York City the judge’s “historic, landmark decision,” issued two weeks ago, to move forward with a long-running lawsuit against the Saudi Arabian government was based on “indefensible evidence.”
“There were at least 13 Saudi government officials connected to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. They were working and operating in and out of the Saudi consulates and the Saudi embassies,” Eagleson said. “There were funneling support from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs in Washington, D.C., to their embassies in San Diego, to the hijackers’ handlers, right down to the hijackers themselves.”
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Eagleson also named two people who he alleged were part of an “advance team” sent by the Saudi government to assist the Islamic extremist group Al-Qaeda in plotting the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. Saudi Arabia has denied the claims.
“It’s been 24 years of pain and anguish and fighting for our families. What happened to this community, what happened to America that day, was horrific. However, what’s happening currently and what’s been happening for the past 24 years has been an abomination,” Eagleson said of the drawn-out legal fight.
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Judge George Daniels of the Southern District of New York said in a 45-page decision that a person could reasonably infer that the two individuals had some knowledge that they were supporting the plane hijackers who perpetrated the deadly attacks on the World Trade Center towers and Pentagon. Daniels said evidence also showed the pair were following instructions from senior officials in the Saudi embassy and that the court has jurisdiction to examine the merits of the plaintiffs’ claims that the Saudi government had a hand in planning the attacks.
“Some of the disputed facts cannot be resolved at this stage of the litigation, because weighing the evidence or assessing witnesses’ credibility will need to take place at trial,” the judge wrote. “Nonetheless, the entire body of undisputed facts, and the Court’s preliminary assessment of certain disputed facts, are adequate for the Court to conclude that the exercise of subject matter jurisdiction is appropriate here.”
Daniels’ decision means the two-decade case is likely headed for trial, a point Eagleson made during the press conference.
“This is what we’ve all known for 20 years,” Eagleson said. “It’s time for America to learn what we’ve been fighting. … This is the best thing that we can do for the memories of our loved ones is let’s stand up for what’s right and just and let’s have truth accountability and closure.”
The attacks on Sept. 11 were carried out by 19 suspects associated with al-Qaeda, led at the time by Osama bin Laden. They hijacked four commercial airplanes in the United States, crashing two into the twin towers in New York City, one into the Pentagon and another into a field in Pennsylvania. The 19 died in the attacks. Five others were charged in military tribunals and are being held at Guantanamo Bay.
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