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In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, 392 F.Supp.2d 539 (2005) 10 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 789 Saudi-based charities that were sponsors of al Qaida’s operations, including ITIRO, MWL, WAMY, BIF, SHC, SIRC, and al Haramain. (Federal Compl. JJ 442-43.) 31 The Federal Plaintiffs seek leave to supplement the record against Prince Salman and Prince Naif with an article that appeared in Rus al Yusef, an Egyptian publication, in August 1998. The unidentified author writes that Islamic aid organizations located in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Somalia, and Tajikistan provided funds and cover to terrorists. (See Federal Mot. to Supplement Record on Prince Naif and Prince Salman, Ex. 2, at 2.) Donors to these unidentified organizations “probably ha[d] no idea where their charity money ha[d] gone.” Cd.) Prince Naif reportedly responded that “if charity money is going to illegitimate targets, it must stop immediately.” (d.) From this submission, the Plaintiffs argue that the Princes knew their charitable donations were going to terrorists. The submission is problematic for a variety of reasons and will not be accepted. First, Plaintiffs do not provide an explanation as why they were only able to obtain and translate the article on the eve of oral argument—well after the motions were fully submitted. Second, the article and *551 its translation have not been authenticated. More pointedly, however, it simply does not say that the Princes were put on notice regarding specific charities and that they continued to contribute to those charities with the intent that their donations would assist al Qaeda. The Federal Plaintiffs’ motion to supplement the record against Prince Salman and Prince Naif is denied. B. Defendants’ Status as Foreign States for FSIA Purposes 41 The FSIA provides the following definition of “foreign state”: (a) A “foreign state” ... includes a political subdivision of a foreign state or an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state as defined in subsection (b). (b) An “agency or instrumentality of a foreign state” means any entity— (1) which is a separate legal person, corporate or otherwise, and (2) which is an organ of a foreign state or political subdivision thereof, or a majority of whose shares or other ownership interest is owned by a foreign state WESTLAW or political subdivision thereof, and (3) which is neither a citizen of a State of the United States ... nor created under the laws of any third country. 28 U.S.C. § 1603. Further, “immunity under the FSIA extends also to agents of a foreign state acting in their official capacities [because] [i]t is generally recognized that a suit against an imdividual acting in his official capacity is the practical equivalent of a suit against the sovereign directly.” Bryks v. Canadian Broad. Corp., 906 F.Supp. 204, 210 (S.D.N.Y.1995) (internal quotations omitted); see also Terrorist Attacks I, 349 F.Supp.2d at 788-89 (finding Princes Sultan and Turki were foreign states for FSIA purposes to the extent Plaintiffs alleged liability for actions taken in their official capacities). 1. SHC (51 SHC contends that it is an organ, agency, or instrumentality of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and acts on behalf of the Kingdom to fund a range of humanitarian relief efforts to Bosnia, Egypt, and Somalia. (See generally Al-Roshood Decl., at Huffman Decl. Ex. A.) In support of its position as a foreign state, SHC submits the affidavits of Dr. Al-Nafissa, a Saudi Arabian lawyer and a Minister of State on the Council of Ministers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Mr. Al-Roshood, who has been the Director of the Executive Office of SHC since its inception. The Court notes it is “required to give ‘great weight’ to any extrinsic submissions made by the foreign defendants regarding the scope of their official responsibilities.” Leutwyler v. Office of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah, 184 F.Supp.2d 277, 287 (S.D.N.Y.2001). King Faud authorized Dr. Al-Nafissa to make his declaration concerning SHC. (Al-Nafissa Decl. | 2, at Huffman Decl. Ex. C.) Dr. Al—Nafissa attests that SHC is “an arm of the Saudi Arabian government [and that its actions] are in keeping with the foreign and domestic governmental policies of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” (d. § 3.) SHC was formed by Decision of the President of the Council of Ministers in 1993. (Al-Roshood Decl. § 6.) In the same Decision, the Council of Ministers appoimted Prince Salman as President of SHC. Ud. § 7.) As President of SHC, Prince Salman is the head of SHC’s Executive Committee and Supreme Commission, members of which Prince Salman appoints. (/d.) SHC is staffed by civil servant employees of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (/d. J 10.) HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017916

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Filename HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017916.jpg
File Size 0.0 KB
OCR Confidence 85.0%
Has Readable Text Yes
Text Length 4,730 characters
Indexed 2026-02-04T16:33:28.954439