US Judge: Families of 9/11 Victims Not Eligible for Afghan Bank Funds
A US federal judge has ruled that victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks are not allowed to seize billions of dollars in frozen central bank funds, saying such a move was "unconstitutional". U.S. District Judge George Daniels made the decision Tuesday, saying the federal courts had no legal authority to seize $3.5 billion in Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) assets to help families of American victims of 9/11. to be paid in September. He said it was unconstitutional to have the families confiscate those assets because it would effectively recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
"The judgment creditors have the right to a default judgment and to receive redress for the worst terrorist attack in our nation's history, but they cannot do so with the funds of the Afghan central bank," Daniels said in his 30-page decision. "The Taliban - not the former Islamic Republic of Afghanistan or the Afghan people - must bear liability for the 9/11 attacks," he added. Tuesday's ruling upheld a magistrate's decision last August that recommended that 9/11 victims not confiscate cash from the Afghan central bank.
Meanwhile, Lee Wolosky, an attorney for a group of creditors known as the Havlish Plaintiffs, has condemned the recent verdict and said the group will appeal. "This decision deprives over 10,000 members of the 9/11 community of their right to seek reparation from the Taliban," he said. "We believe it was wrongly decided and will appeal." The other groups of creditors are also planning an appeal, according to a separate court filing on Tuesday.
Back in February, the US Treasury Department announced plans to freeze half of the $7 billion in Afghan funds frozen in US banks for distribution to the families of the victims of the September 11 attacks. Washington also claimed that the other half would go to humanitarian aid. The Afghan central bank rebuked the plan, saying the funds were invested in the US, in accordance with international practice, and belonged to the Afghan people.
Afghanistan has about $9 billion in foreign assets, including $7 billion in the United States. The rest is mainly located in Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland. Afghanistan's economy is on the brink of collapse after a two-decade war instigated by the US and its allies that has impoverished the country. On September 11, 2001, multiple attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and caused approximately $10 billion in property and infrastructure damage across the United States. The terrorist group al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for these attacks.
Shortly thereafter, the United States invaded and occupied Afghanistan on the grounds that the then Taliban government in Afghanistan was harboring al-Qaeda. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans died in the war. The Taliban returned to power in 2021, twenty years after being driven out by US troops.
