Although al Qaeda ringleader Osama bin Laden is now dead, Reuters reports that the search for those who help fund al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations continues—in no small part due to litigation against defendants alleged to have supported terrorist activity.
Thousands of 9/11 victims' family members formed the 9/11 Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism in August 2002 and filed Thomas E. Burnett, Sr., et al. v. Al Baraka Investment and Development Corporation, et al.,(DDC) in an effort to seek justice against the alleged sponsors of Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda and the terrorist attacks of 9/11. In 2003, this litigation was consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, MDL 1570, is currently pending before the Honorable Judge George B. Daniels.
According to anti-terrorism lawyers at Motley Rice and other firms working on behalf of the victims, the U.S. government has stated that the remaining defendants in the MDL may continue to financially support the terrorist activity of al Qaeda and the Taliban. Since October 2010, the victims' lawyers have been collecting financial records, records of relationships with known al Qaeda associates and other evidence from groups cited by the U.S. government as being al Qaeda financiers. These groups have until August 2011 to provide the requested records, and a trial date may be set for 2012.
Read more about the anti-terrorism lawsuits in a full article featured by Reuters.
Learn more about the In re Terrorist Attacks litigation that Motley Rice attorneys have filed on behalf of clients against the alleged financiers and material supporters of the terrorist organization al Qaeda.