Appeals court allows families to sue Saudi Arabia over naval air base attack
A federal appeals court ruled that teh families and survivors of the 2019 terrorist attack on a U.S. naval air base in Florida can sue Saudi Arabia. the attacker, Mohammed saeed al Shamrani, was a Royal Saudi Air Force officer who came to the U.S. under a Pentagon pilot training program. The court overturned a lower court’s dismissal and held that Saudi Arabia could be held accountable for allegedly being grossly negligent in vetting and sending al Shamrani to America despite evidence linking him to extremist views and al Qaeda affiliations. The ruling allows the lawsuit to proceed under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act,asserting that Saudi Arabia deliberately enrolled and supported al Shamrani despite known risks.
Appeals court allows families to sue Saudi Arabia over naval air base attack
A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that survivors and families of the victims from a 2019 terrorist attack on a U.S. naval air base in Florida can sue Saudi Arabia for allowing the gunman in the attack to be on American soil.
In a unanimous decision from a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which covers Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, survivors and families of the victims of the attack can proceed with a lawsuit against Saudi Arabia.
As stated by Judge Stanley Marcus, the lawsuits against Saudi Arabia can proceed since Mohammed Saeed al Shamrani, the perpetrator of the attack, was a second lieutenant of the Royal Saudi Air Force who came to the United States in 2017 as a member of the Pentagon‘s pilot training program for foreign nationals.
The appeals court overruled a decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, which said the court lacked jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act.
“One group, or bundle, of the plaintiffs’ claims — those based on the theory that the kingdom had been grossly negligent in vetting, hiring, and sending airman al Shamrani to the United States — is facially sufficient to survive the jurisdictional attack,” Marcus wrote.
The court also ruled on the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which upheld claims that the Saudi government failed to vet the accused attacker properly, despite extensive evidence that he was affiliated with al Qaeda and adhered to extremist views, and “deliberately” sent him to the United States.
GUNMAN WHO OPENED FIRE AT NAVAL AIR STATION PENSACOLA WAS SAUDI ARABIAN FLIGHT STUDENT
“The Amended Complaint sufficiently alleges that the Kingdom committed grossly negligent acts of commission rather than omission,” the court said. “Second, the Amended Complaint asserts that on multiple occasions, Saudi Arabia conducted security screenings for Al Shamrani — deliberate and affirmative acts of will or exertion designed to accomplish an objective” of enrolling him in the training program.
“Third, Saudi Arabia nominated al Shamrani for, and awarded him, a scholarship which enabled him to go to Texas to learn English from August 2017 until May 2018, and then to participate in the flight training program at NAS Pensacola from May of 2018 until the time of the attack on December 6, 2019,” the court added.
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