Saudi Arabia can be sued by 9/11 victims if US Bill becomes law

The US Senate has passed legislation which would allow the victims of the 9/11 attack to sue the government of Saudi Arabia, seeking damages for the losses caused to them. The bill was passed on Tuesday and it is called the ‘Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act’ or JASTA.

The bill was passed in the Senate by unanimous voice vote and if it is passed by the US House of Representatives as well, then it can become law. In that case, JSTA would remove the sovereign immunity, which generally prevents lawsuits against governments for countries found to be involved in terrorist activities on US soil. This would in turn translate to survivors of the 9/11 attack and relatives of the victims, to seek damages from other countries.

The bill will have far-reaching impact and already the Saudis are not happy about it. The Saudis deny responsibility for the Twin Tower attack and have threatened to sell up to $7500 billion in US securities and other American assets in retaliation, if the bill becomes law.

The JSTA would allow lawyers in New York to prove that the Saudis were involved in the attack on the Twin Towers and Pentagon and this in turn will make the government liable for damages.

Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York, a co-sponsor, said the bill is overdue and that, because it only applies to attacks on US soil, does not risk lawsuits against the United States.

“Today the Senate has spoken loudly and unanimously that the families of victims of terrorist attacks should be able to hold the perpetrators, even if it´s a country, a nation, accountable,” Schumer told a news conference.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=53032

Posted by fatimaarshad on May 18 2016. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.