Saudi royals must testify in 9/11 lawsuit, says US judge
- Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the kingdom’s former intelligence chief and US ambassador, among those who must answer questions in long-running case
- Relatives of September 11 victims are seeking millions in damages, claiming agents of Saudi Arabia knowingly supported al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden
Two members of Saudi Arabia’s royal family will have to answer questions about the September 11 attacks in what lawyers for victims call a turning point in a long-running lawsuit, a federal judge ruled.
US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in a written ruling unsealed late on Thursday ordered Saudi Arabia to make the royals – and other Saudi witnesses, including current and former government official – available for depositions.
The members of the royal family include Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who is a former intelligence chief in Saudi Arabia and was the kingdom’s US ambassador from 1983 to 2005, court papers said.
Netburn said Saudi Arabia “persuasively” argued that documents did not suggest the prince oversaw the work of two officials the plaintiffs linked to the attacks.
But the judge said the plaintiffs’ materials indicated he “likely has first-hand knowledge” of the role one official “was assigned by the Kingdom and the diplomatic cover provided to the propagators” working in the United States.
It was unclear how and when the witnesses will be deposed, but the decision means “we can start uncovering what they know”, plaintiff’s lawyer Jim Kreindler said on Friday. He called the ruling a “major development”.
Some relatives of September 11 victims claim that agents of Saudi Arabia knowingly supported al-Qaeda and its leader at the time, Osama bin Laden, before hijackers crashed planes into New York’s World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.
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The nearly 3,000 deaths were commemorated on Friday on the 19th anniversary of the attacks. The families are seeking billions of dollars in damages.
Michael Kellogg, a lawyer for Saudi Arabia, declined to comment on Friday.
The Saudi government has long denied involvement in the attacks.
Additional reporting by Reuters
