US Judge Dismisses Saudi 9/11 Case

Aljazeera ^ | Thursday 20 January 2005 | AFP

[JohnathanRGalt]

US judge dismisses Saudi 9/11 case
by
Thursday 20 January 2005 5:31 AM GMT

Ambassador Bandar bin Sultan has welcomed the ruling

A US federal judge has dismissed lawsuits against Saudi Arabia stemming from the 9/11 attacks.

Ruling that the plaintiffs did not provide sufficient proof of alleged involvement on Wednesday, district court Judge Richard Conway Casey cleared numerous leading Saudi officials and financial institutions of any wrong-doing.

Reacting to the 62-page ruling, Prince Bandar bin Sultan - Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington - welcomed the judge's stance, which he said was "consistent" with the findings of the US 9/11 commission.
  
"The decision of the court is consistent with the findings of the 9/11 commission, which concluded after exhaustive investigation that there is no evidence of involvement in or financial support for terrorism by the Saudi government or the royal family," the prince said.

Accusations

The plaintiffs - including relatives and insurers of victims of the 2001 attacks - had taken about 200 people and institutions to court.

Specific charges included providing material support to the planners of the deadly attacks on New York's twin World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, outside Washington, which killed 2700 people.
  
The suits blamed Usama bin Ladin, al-Qaida, Saudi leaders, several financial institutions and some charities.
  
Casey ruled that the plaintiffs did not have sufficient evidence to pursue a case against Saudi Arabia, Prince Muhammad al-Faisal al-Saud, Defence Minister Prince Sultan Ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Saud and Prince Turki al-Faisal, the Saudi ambassador to London. 
  
More cases dropped

"In the aftermath of 9/11, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been confronted with many false charges.

"As the real facts emerge, we hope we can all move forward in the spirit of cooperation and mutual support, which is so critical to winning the war on terrorism," bin Sultan added.
  
Casey also rejected charges against banks such as Al-Rahji Bank, the Saudi American Bank and the Arab Bank.
  
However, the judge permitted cases to be brought against bin Ladin's family construction firm, the Saudi Bin Ladin Group; the National Commercial Bank; and charities including the Muslim World League.

AFP
By 

You can find this article at:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/0F0C7F3C-92EE-400A-A7A3-CA3C15D40E36.htm

[JohnathanRGalt]

What other rulings has Judge Richard Conway Casey made?

[Pan_Yans Wife]

The plaintiffs - including relatives and insurers of victims of the 2001 attacks - had taken about 200 people and institutions to court.

I wonder who the insurers were.

[JohnathanRGalt]

More info here: CNN, August 16, 2002: $116 trillion lawsuit filed by 9/11 families

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Thank you.

[Cicero]

I'm sorry to hear it.

[Marano NYC]

This was what I expected.

[JohnathanRGalt]

Here are some previous FreeRepublic discussions of the topic:

Agency to Join 9/11 Lawsuit Against Saudis

Judge rules Saudis beyond reach of American courts

CANTOR VS. THE KINGDOM

US Port to Sue Saudi Arabia over September 11 Attack

Cantor Fitzgerald Sues Saudis for Losses

[John Lenin]

Good, now they can lower the pirce of oil as a gesture of goodwill ...

[JohnathanRGalt]

Here's an inspiring story. In this case, the Justice is literally blind.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

Here's an inspiring story. In this case, the Justice is literally blind.

So does the blind judge have a connection to the blind sheik or the blind imman?

Oh Well, if we can't beat'em in court, we'll just have to nuke Mecca.

[Marano NYC]

Thanks for the post but I should have recognized that name.
There were a series of jokes on the same theme when he was appointed.
He is an inspiration on other levels.

[OldFriend]

I am not positive but I believe John Loftus was an attorney in this case....which explains why he attacks Saudi Arabia with every breath.

[JohnathanRGalt]

Thanks for the post but I should have recognized that name.
There were a series of jokes on the same theme when he was appointed.
He is an inspiration on other levels.

What other info do you have?

At first, pro-lifer's were hopeful that "with Casey at the bat" the Congressional ban against partial-birth abortions would stand.  In one of his interrogations he actually asked if the baby (not fetus) felt pain while it was being snuffed. Casey is Catholic. Here he is getting a medal from the Pope in 1999:

However, eventually it was the pro-aboritionist's that were rejoicing:

U.S. Court in New York Rejects Partial-Birth Abortion Ban

August 27, 2004  By JULIA PRESTON
A federal judge in New York ruled yesterday that a federal law banning a rarely used method of abortion was unconstitutional because it did not exempt cases where the procedure might be necessary to protect a woman's health.

The ruling, by Judge Richard Conway Casey, came in a challenge brought by the National Abortion Federation and seven doctors to a November 2003 law that bans the method known as partial-birth abortion.
...
... "This is a great day for women's health, because it means the Constitution holds that doctors will treat women's health and not Congress," said Talcott Camp, an A.C.L.U. lawyer in the case.

[monkeyshine]

"we hope we can all move forward in the spirit of cooperation and mutual support

ha ha ha those Saudis sure know how to tell a good joke.

[Marano NYC]

I was an assistant to a blind professor in College his appointment was a big deal in the eighties. The blind community was very excited and he was an inspiration.

He was also the source of scores of jokes on WABC radio for a week.

[Cicero]

I've followed this story and have seen some of these links when they were posted.

It seems as if Saudi Arabia may be managing to get off the hook. I was hoping maybe we'd deal with them after we finished with Iran and Syria, but now I don't know. It seems as if they're managing to buy their way out of trouble again.