- DUBAI (Reuters) - A group
of Saudis plan to sue the U.S. government and media organizations for the
alleged psychological and financial damage they suffered in the aftermath
of September 11, their lawyer said on Wednesday.
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- "Tens of Saudi nationals seriously plan to file
lawsuits against U.S. government, civil and media entities, the majority
of whom are students who had been attending American universities and were
forced to leave," Saudi lawyer Katib al-Shamri said.
-
- He said the plan had gathered pace after families of
900 people killed in the hijacked airliner attacks filed a lawsuit last
week in Washington against Saudi nationals and institutions alleging they
had funded terrorism and seeking damages of over $100 trillion.
-
- The civil suit accuses three senior Saudi princes, several
Saudi and other foreign banks and Sudan's government of funding Osama bin
Laden, the key U.S. suspect in the attacks.
-
- The Saudi banks have denied any role in funding terrorism
and say the case is an attempt to extort Saudi wealth and pressure Saudi
Arabia to conform with U.S. policies on Iraq and the Middle East.
-
- "We had been waiting to raise funds to hire U.S.
lawyers and also for things to quiet down in the United States, but it
seems the campaign against Saudi Arabia is continuing with that bogus and
politicized U.S. lawsuit," Shamri told Reuters by telephone.
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- "Our case will seek reasonable compensation,"
he said. "It is the right time to proceed."
-
- Shamri said the potential plaintiffs included Saudis
whose names had initially been listed among the hijackers of the planes
that crashed into U.S. landmarks.
-
- Others want to sue U.S. law enforcement officers for
harassing them in the hunt for the perpetrators. Hundreds of Saudis have
been questioned by U.S. authorities investigating the attacks.
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- Washington has named 15 Saudis among the 19 hijackers.
-
- Shamri, a member of an international legal committee
set up to defend detainees at a U.S. base in Cuba, also called on the United
States to allow families of more than 100 Saudi nationals held there to
visit their sons.
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- The prisoners were captured in the U.S.-led war against
al Qaeda, blamed for the September 11 attacks, and against the Taliban
government that sheltered them in Afghanistan.
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- "Most of the Saudi detainees are innocent and were
carrying out charity and humanitarian work in Afghanistan. Others are very
young and were fooled," Shamri said. He called on U.S. authorities
to charge the detainees or release them.
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