US Senate passes bill allowing 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia

The US Senate has passed a controversial bill that will enable the families of victims of the 9/11 attacks to sue the Saudi government for damages.

On Tuesday, the Senate unanimously passed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA). If it becomes law, JASTA will remove sovereign immunity – which protects governments from lawsuits – for countries found to be involved in terrorist attacks on American soil.

According to the Senate’s website, the purpose of the Act is to provide litigants with “the broadest possible basis” to seek relief against persons, entities and countries “that have provided material support, directly or indirectly, to foreign organizations or persons that engage in terrorist activities against the United States.”

The bill must next be taken up by the US House of Representatives, where the Judiciary Committee intends to hold a hearing on the measure in the near future.

Saudi Arabia, which has denied any involvement in the 2001 attacks, has strongly objected to JASTA. The kingdom has said it will sell up to $750 billion in US securities and other American assets if the bill becomes law.

“What (Congress is) doing is stripping the principle of sovereign immunities which would turn the world for international law into the law of the jungle,” Saudi foreign minister Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir said in a statement, cited by multiple news agencies.

Meanwhile Republican Senator John Cornyn, who is also a sponsor of JASTA, said the bill does not specifically target Saudi Arabia. However, he alluded to a still-classified section of a report on the 9/ 11 attacks that some say might implicate Riyadh.

“We have yet to see the 28 pages that have not been yet released about the 9/11 report, and that may well be instructive,” Cornyn said, cited by Reuters.

He added that it was up to the court to decide whether the Saudis were liable.

“I don't believe that this will be destructive of the relationship that we have with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

The Senate’s unanimous passing of the bill has been lauded in a statement issued by a committee representing 9/11 families and victims.

“We hope that, in light of the robust public discussion over the last weeks as well as the revisions that have been made to the bill, the House of Representatives will also pass the bill without undue delay and that the President will sign it into law,” the committee said.

Write to Jerusha Sequeira at jerusha.s@argaamnews.com