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Thailand bans film over depictions of Buddhist monks

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Buddhist body says Arbat could destroy the religion with its intimate scenes and depiction of monk taking drugs.

Buddhist monks, traditionally revered in Thailand, have been rocked by a number of scandals [EPA]

Buddhist monks, traditionally revered in Thailand, have been rocked by a number of scandals [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

A Thai horror film about Buddhist monks has been banned over fears it could “destroy” the kingdom’s majority faith, authorities say.

The culture ministry on Tuesday objected to certain parts of the film Arbat, including a kissing scene and one where a monk is shown taking drugs.

The clergy have long been revered in overwhelmingly Buddhist Thailand but in recent years have been rocked by scandals, including gambling and prostitution, as well as corruption at the increasingly wealthy temples propped by donations from the faithful.

“The movie has some scenes that will destroy Buddhism. If it is shown, people’s faith in Buddhism will deteriorate,” Somchai Surachatri, spokesman for Thailand’s National Office of Buddhism, told AFP news agency.

His office sits on the censorship committee at the culture ministry.

On Tuesday the film’s producer Sahamongkol Film International said it was “preparing to adjust some parts of the movie” before resubmitting it for consideration.

“We will try to maintain the essence and plot of the story as far as we can,” it said in a Facebook post.

Arbat, which translates from Thai as “violations committed by monks”, was scheduled for nationwide release on Thursday.

Corruption scandal

Thailand’s monks have come under increasing fire for their embrace of commercialism in recent years.

In April the Dhammakaya temple, one of the richest in the kingdom, returned about $20m given by a company executive later accused of embezzling the cash.

Donations have long formed the bedrock of Thai Buddhism.

Every morning barefooted monks make alms rounds in their local neighbourhoods while many devotees “make merit” by gifting money to temples.

The case of notoriously flashy monk, Wiraphol Sukphol, taking selfies while flying in a private jet triggered particular outrage.

Other embarrassing incidents in recent months include a monk arrested for multiple sexual assaults, clergy dressed in civilian clothes drinking alcohol and crashing a car, and monks, who are expected to be celibate, having girlfriends.

US anti-Islam rallies ‘fizzle’ nationwide

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Interfaith support quashes anti-Muslim rallies

A grand total of zero anti-Muslim activists attended today's rally in Huntsville, Alabama #HateUnchecked

A grand total of zero anti-Muslim activists attended today’s rally in Huntsville, Alabama #HateUnchecked

by Common Dreams

A series of planned anti-Islam rallies targeting more than 20 U.S. cities Saturday fizzled out despite extensive social media promotion; morphing instead into a welcomed show of support and tolerance.

In Armarillo, Texas, police department Cpl. Cody Lavery told the Amarillo Globe News “All of these people are supporters of the center. Everything’s been very peaceful so far, and the protestors haven’t shown up yet.” At the Khursheed Unissa Memorial Community Center in Amarillo,  more than 100 people opposing the anti-Islam rally came out in an impromptu show of support.

In Dearborn, Michigan, the media and police reportedly out-numbered all protesters at the anti-Islam rally. As media reports began to preview the protest, Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly told citizens Friday to go about their business and ignore the visitors, who billed their event a Global Rally For Humanity. Counter-protesters and others saw it as an unwarranted attack on an entire religious group holding up signs that read, “No to Anti-Islam Bigots” and “Unity Yes! Racism No!” while chanting “Stop Terrorizing Muslims at Home and America!” and “Hey hey, ho ho, racist fascists got to go!” Fewer than 10 anti-Islam protestors reportedly showed up, four carrying weapons.

The protests were billed as “open carry” events and participants were encouraged to come armed with guns.

The United Church of Christ (UCC) also issued a call on Friday for local congregations to show support and solidarity with Muslims across the country over the weekend.

“I want to say as clearly as I can, and in no uncertain terms, that the United Church of Christ stands in full solidarity with people of the Muslim faith,” wrote UCC president Rev. John C. Dorhauer.

“Their contribution to religion, to peace, to humanity, and to the goodness of all is to be celebrated. The United Church of Christ deplores the narrow-mindedness that fails to see this and seeks instead to engender fear, hatred, and anxiety.”

Meanwhile, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said Sunday that the anti-Islam hate rallies planned at mosques nationwide on Saturday “fizzled” and that interfaith partners turned out at a number of mosques to show their support for the Muslim community. CAIR noted that one hate rally in Phoenix included apparent neo-Nazis wearing swastika symbols. “We are pleased that what was planned as a campaign of hate and marginalization turned instead into a show of support for the American Muslim community and for religious inclusion,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.   CAIR listed a number of images and media reports contrasting non-existent or poor turnout for the hate rallies with enthusiastic support for Muslims by interfaith partners: CAIR Photo: 25 People of Other Faiths Turn Out at Maryland Mosque to Show Support Against Haters CAIR-OK Photo: Interfaith Partners Show Support for Muslims in Oklahoma CAIR-OK: Islam Haters ‘Few and Far Between’ in Oklahoma Photo: Lone, Possibly Illiterate Anti-Islam Protester in Oklahoma City Video: Sad and Lonely Hater Outside Plano, Texas, Mosque at Jummah TX: Anti-Islam Protester Outnumbered 100 to 1 TX: People Show Support for Local Mosque After Concerns Over Rumored Anti-Islam Rally TX: Handful of Islamophobes Show Up at Richardson Mosque – Given Water by Congregation AL: Planned Protest Outside Huntsville Islamic Center Falls Flat TN: Supporters Outnumber Protesters at Mosque WA: Interfaith Celebration Counter Anti-Islam Protests CAIR-WA: No Anti-Islam Protesters, But Interfaith partners Show Support for Muslim Community WA: Other Faiths Stand with Spokane Muslims WA: Friends of Muslim community in Kitsap County Gather MI: Rally Against Islam Outnumbered by Counter Protesters Oregon Anti-Muslim Rally “Re-Branded” as Pro-Police MA: Mayor Walsh Stands with Hub’s Muslims Video: CAIR-SFBA Director Zahra Billoo Says Anti-Islam Hate Rallies Will Expose Islamophobia

Svetlana Alexievich wins Nobel Literature prize

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Belarusian Svetlana Alexievich's writing is critical of her home country's government

Belarusian Svetlana Alexievich’s writing is critical of her home country’s government

by BBC

Belarusian writer and journalist Svetlana Alexievich has won the 2015 Nobel Prize for literature.

Announcing the prize in Stockholm, the chair of the Swedish Academy, Sara Danius, called her writing “a monument to courage and suffering in our time”.

The award, presented to a living writer, is worth 8m kronor (£691,000).

Previous winners include literary heavyweights Rudyard Kipling and Ernest Hemingway. French historical author Patrick Modiano won in 2014.

It has been half a century since a writer working primarily in non-fiction won the Nobel – and Alexievich is the first journalist to win the award.

Her best-known works in English translation include Voices From Chernobyl, an oral history of the 1986 nuclear catastrophe; and Boys In Zinc, a collection of first-hand accounts from the Soviet-Afghan war. The title refers to the zinc coffins in which the dead came home.

The book caused controversy and outrage when it was first published in Russia, where reviewers called it a “slanderous piece of fantasy” and part of a “hysterical chorus of malign attacks”.

Alexievich has also been critical of her home country’s government, leading to a period of persecution – in which her telephone was bugged and she was banned from making public appearances.

She spent 10 years in exile from 2000, living in Italy, France, Germany and Sweden, among other places, before moving back to Minsk.

Witness accounts

The author was born in 1948 in the Ukrainian town of Ivano-Frankivsk, then known as Stanislav,to a Belarusian father and Ukrainian mother.

The family moved to Belarus after her father completed his military service, and Alexievich studied journalism at the University of Minsk between 1967 and 1972.

Svetlana Alexievich’s works also won her the Swedish PEN prize

After graduation, she worked as a journalist for several years before publishing her first book, War’s Unwomanly Face, in 1985.

Based on interviews with hundreds of women who participated in the World War Two, it set a template for her future works, constructing narratives from witnesses to some the world’s most devastating events.

On her personal website, Alexievich explains her pursuit of journalism: “I chose a genre where human voices speak for themselves.”

She has previously won the Swedish PEN prize for her “courage and dignity as a writer”.

Ms Danius said the author had spent nearly 40 years studying the people of the former Soviet Union, but that her work was not only about history but “something eternal, a glimpse of eternity”.

“By means of her extraordinary method – a carefully composed collage of human voices – Alexievich deepens our comprehension of an entire era,” the Swedish Academy added.

Alexievich was the bookmakers’ favourite to win 2015 Nobel award, according to Ladbrokes.

She beat other hot favourites Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami and Kenyan novelist Ngugi Wa Thiong’o.

She is the 14th woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in its history.

A total of 112 individuals have won it between 1901 and 2015. The prize was suspended several times during the first and second world wars.

Rejecting government hostility, people of Denmark issue welcome letter to refugees

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‘As ordinary Danes we wish to extend our sympathy and compassion to anyone fleeing war and despair’

Denmark's government attracted international criticism last month when it printed advertisements in four Lebanese papers warning refugees not to come to the European country. (Image: People Reaching Out/Facebook)

Denmark’s government attracted international criticism last month when it printed advertisements in four Lebanese papers warning refugees not to come to the European country. (Image: People Reaching Out/Facebook)

by Sarah Lazare, Common Dreams

A group of ordinary Danes has devised a creative way to directly counter—and apologize for—their government’s message of hostility towards refugees.

Denmark’s government attracted international criticism last month when it printed advertisements in four Lebanese papers warning refugees not to come to the European country by emphasizing that its laws are hostile to those fleeing war and poverty.

But in response, Danes affiliated with the group People Reaching Out on Friday launched their own advertising campaign—to welcome refugees with open arms and apologize for their government’s xenophobic and heartless message.

To differentiate its message, the campaign depicted marked-up versions of the government’s original advertisements and included a “statement from people to people” which declares: “Sorry for the hostility towards refugees expressed here. As ordinary Danes we wish to extend our sympathy and compassion to anyone fleeing war and despair.”

(Image courtesy of People Reaching Out/Facebook)

Denmark’s government is taking an increasingly hostile stance toward refugees, with slashes to services as well as the shutting down of trains and roads linked with Germany. This trend is driven by the right-wing Liberal Party, which formed a minority government in June.

However, Denmark is not alone. States across Europe are tightening their borders, cutting aid to refugees and building fences as the continent faces its greatest influx of people since World War II. The humanitarian failure of governments is accompanied by racist, anti-immigrant blow-back.

But within Denmark, public surveys—and the outraged response—indicate that the government crackdown does not reflect the will of the majority of Danish people. A Gallup Poll released last month found that 56 percent of people in Denmark want their government to increase the number of residency permits it grants to refugees. That figure is a significant boost from polling last year.

Meanwhile, ordinary people across the continent—from soccer matches in Germany to train stations in Vienna—have greeted refugees with a message of welcome.

Scientists from Japan, Canada win Nobel Prize in Physics

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Takaaki Kajita Arthur B McDonald

by Don Melvin, CNN

London: Two scientists have won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their groundbreaking work showing that neutrinos — electrically neutral subatomic particles — have mass, contrary to what had been thought.

The prize was awarded to Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald, the Nobel Committee said Tuesday, “for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass.”

Kajita works at the University of Tokyo, in Kashiwa, Japan. McDonald works at Queen’s University, in Kingston, Canada.

The Nobel Committee said the discovery — arcane to nonscientists — has changed our understanding of matter, and may yet change our view of the universe.

“The Nobel Prize in Physics 2015 recognizes Takaaki Kajita in Japan and Arthur B. McDonald in Canada, for their key contributions to the experiments which demonstrated that neutrinos change identities,” the Nobel Committee’s statement said. “This metamorphosis requires that neutrinos have mass. The discovery has changed our understanding of the innermost workings of matter and can prove crucial to our view of the universe.”

A neutrino is “an elementary particle which holds no electrical charge, travels at nearly the speed of light, and passes through ordinary matter with virtually no interaction,” according to the physics.about.com website.

Scientists say that neutrinos, because they interact weakly with other particles, can probe environments that other kinds of energy, such as light or radio waves, cannot penetrate.

Last year’s Nobel winners in physics were two scientists in Japan and one at the University of California, Santa Barbara for helping create the LED light, a transformational and ubiquitous source that now lights up everything from our living rooms to our flashlights to our smart phones.

Since 1901, the committee has handed out the Nobel Prize in Physics 108 times. The youngest recipient was Lawrence Bragg, who won in 1915 at the age of 25. The oldest physics laureate was Raymond Davis Jr., who was 88 years old when he was awarded the prize in 2002.

John Bardeen was the only physicist to receive the prize twice, for work in semiconductors and superconductivity.

In the coming days, the Nobel committee also will announce prizes in chemistry, literature, peace and economics.

On Monday, three scientists shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work on parasitic diseases.

Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel created the prizes in 1895 to honor work in physics, chemistry, literature and peace. The economics prize, established in 1968 as a memorial to Nobel, was first awarded in 1969.

Germany expects 1.5 million asylum-seekers, report says

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German paper quotes confidential document containing estimates that are far higher than publicly released figures.

refugees

by Al Jazeera

Germany could receive up to 1.5 million asylum-seekers this year, according to a newspaper quoting a confidential document containing estimates that are far higher than publicly released official figures.

Authorities have so far predicted that Europe’s biggest economy would record between 800,000 and one million new arrivals in 2015.

But Bild paper quoted the document saying that the authorities were now expecting to receive 920,000 new arrivals in the coming three months alone, bringing the total number of asylum-seekers this year to 1.5 million.

“The migratory pressure will increase. For the fourth quarter, we expect between 7,000 and 10,000 illegal entries a day,” according to extracts of the document, although Bild did not specify its source.

The document said: “The significant number of asylum-seekers risks becoming an extreme burdenfor the regions and communes.”

The newspaper also quoted the document estimating that each asylum-seeker who successfully obtained refugee status could bring on average “four to eight” family members to Germany.

On the basis of the preliminary forecast of 920,000 refugees, some “7.36 million people” could therefore have the right to move to Germany due to family ties.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has been lauded worldwide for her decision to open Germany’s doors to refugees fleeing war and misery.

But within Germany, her popularity is starting to wane as local authorities struggle to cope with the massive task of hosting the record surge in refugees.

Many of those who come to Germany and other EU state arrive after arduous trips that can involve being on overcrowded boats in the Mediterranean.

Children bodies found

Nearly 3,000 others have died or disappeared during the crossing.

On Sunday, decomposed bodies belonging to a baby, estimated to be 6-12 months old, and a child, about four years old, were found on the shore of the Greek Kos island, on the frontline of the refugee influx coming from Turkey.

According to Greek media reports, authorities believe the children belonged to refugee families trying to reach Kos in a dinghy.

The grim discovery recalls the case of three-year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi whose body was found face down on a Turkish beach last month.

In September, at least 15 babies and children drowned when their overcrowded boat capsized in high winds off the Aegean island of Farmakonisi.

According to a Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung report on Sunday, the EU and Turkey have agreed in principle to a plan of action to help ease the flow of refugees into the bloc.

Under the plan, Turkey would agree to stepped-up efforts to secure its frontier with the EU by taking part in joint patrols with the Greek coastguard in the eastern Aegean Sea coordinated by EU border protection agency Frontex.

Oregon shooter had 13 guns and was student at Umpqua

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Six guns found at scene and seven at home of Chris Harper Mercer, who was enrolled at college where shooting took place.

Oregon's top federal prosecutor said Mercer used a handgun when he opened fire on classmates [EPA]

Oregon’s top federal prosecutor said Mercer used a handgun when he opened fire on classmates [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

The gunman behind the latest mass shooting in the US had hoarded an arsenal of weapons and was enrolled in the class where the fatal shootings occurred, authorities have said.

The names of the nine people, five women and four men, aged between 18 and 67, who died on Thursday’s shooting at Umpqua Community College were released on Friday.

Though officials have yet to formally name him, the gunman, who died in a shoot-out with police, has been widely identified as Chris Harper Mercer, 26.

Officials said they had recovered 13 weapons belonging to him, including six at the school and seven at the apartment he shared with his mother.

A flak jacket and five rounds of ammunition were also recovered at the school after the shooting.

US media said Mercer left behind a typed statement several pages long in which he indicated he felt lonely and was inspired by previous mass killings.

Seven other people were wounded in the attack in Roseburg, about 180 miles south of Portland.

Mercer’s weapons had been purchased legally over the past three years, some by him, others by relatives, said Celinez Nunez, assistant field agent for the Seattle division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Oregon’s top federal prosecutor said Mercer used a handgun when he opened fire on classmates and stashed a rifle in another room but did not fire it.

Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin said on Friday that Mercer was enrolled in the class where the fatal shootings occurred.

Rita Cavin, interim president of the school, told CNN that Mercer was enrolled in English and theatre classes and that he initially opened fire in an English class.

Special school

The army revealed that Mercer had failed basic training in 2008.

Army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Ben Garrett said Mercer was in the military for a little over a month at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, but was discharged for failing to meet the minimum standards.

Garrett did not say which standards Mercer failed.

Generally, the army requires recruits to pass physical fitness tests and to be in overall good physical and mental health.

Recruits must also pass a multiple-choice test covering science, mathematics, reading comprehension and other topics.

Mercer graduated from the Switzer Learning Center in Torrance, California in 2009, according to a graduation listing in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

Switzer is a private, nonprofit school geared for special education students with a range of issues from learning disabilities, health problems and autism or Asperger Syndrome, according to the school’s website.

In Washington, President Barack Obama lamented the government’s inability to pass stricter gun laws even after attacks like the one in Oregon.

At a news conference at the White House on Friday, Obama said he planned to keep talking about the issue and “will politicise it” because inaction is itself a political decision the US is making.

He said it was impossible to identify mentally ill people likely to perpetrate mass shootings ahead of time.

The only thing the US can do, he explained, is ensure they do not have an arsenal available “when something in them snaps”.

Nine dead in shooting at college in US state of Oregon

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Nine people killed at a college in Roseburg by 26-year-old gunman who was later killed in a shootout with police.

Chris Harper Mercer

by Al Jazeera

A gunman went on a shooting rampage at a college in the US state of Oregon, killing nine people and wounding seven before he died in a shootout with police.

Authorities initially said more had died in Thursday’s shooting but the Sheriff’s department corrected this.

A visibly angry President Barack Obama made an impassioned plea for gun control in the wake of the shooting, blasting Congress for its failure to act in the face of “routine” mass killings.

The shooter – identified by US media as Chris Harper Mercer, 26 – opened fire in a classroom at Umpqua Community College in rural Roseburg, and moved to other rooms methodically gunning down his victims, witnesses said.

Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin said nine people were killed and seven were injured, several critically. He said the victims’ identities would not be released for at least 24 hours.

Witnesses quoted in US media described scenes of terror and panic as the tragedy unfolded. One man whose daughter was wounded told CNN that the gunman ordered students to stand up if they were Christian and then shot them.

“They would stand up and he said ‘Good, because you’re a Christian, you’re going to see God in just about one second’,” Stacy Boylan told CNN, relaying his daughter Ana’s account.

He said his daughter played dead when the gunman ordered her to stand up as she lay on the floor.

Student Cassandra Welding was in a classroom when she heard 35 to 40 shots coming from an adjacent room.

She saw a fellow student be shot after opening the classroom door to check what was happening.

“Then we locked the doors, turned off the lights and … we were all pretty much in panic mode and called 911 (emergency services) and our parents and (said) ‘I love yous’ because we didn’t know what would happen, if those were our last words.”

‘We have become numb’

Voicing both anger and sadness at the latest mass shooting at a US school, Obama threw down the gauntlet to politicians and voters on the thorny issue of gun control.

“Somehow this has become routine,” said the president. “We’ve become numb to this.”

“We are the only advanced country on Earth that sees these kinds of mass shooting every few months,” he added.

“It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun.”

Hanlin said police were alerted to the shooting shortly after 10:30am and rushed to the site where two officers exchanged fire with the gunman who was later confirmed dead.

Authorities said investigators were examining social media postings thought to belong to the shooter. Several reports said he may have shared his intentions online beforehand.

Other reports said police recovered three handguns and an assault rifle at the scene along with a cell phone that presumably belonged to the shooter who wore a bullet proof vest.

Hanlin confirmed that authorities had identified the gunman, but declined to release his name.

“You will never hear me mention his name,” Hanlin said. “I will not give him the credit he probably sought prior to this horrific and cowardly act.”

A candlelit vigil was held late Thursday for the victims in Roseburg, a close-knit logging community with many locals among the 3,300 students at the college.

‘We all froze’

Brady Winder, another student at Umpqua, said he was in class when suddenly he heard a loud pop coming from an adjoining classroom.

He said his teacher called out through the door to see if everything was OK and then further shots rang out.

“We all kind of froze and bolted out the door,” Winder said. “I didn’t really have any time to think. It was fight or flight.”

Police searched the entire campus after the shooting aided by sniffer dogs and patted down students and staff as they left and boarded buses that transported them to local fairgrounds.

“Most of us have relatives taking classes here,” said Douglas County fire Marshall Ray Shoufler. “Pretty much everybody knows everybody type scenario.

“So something like this affects many, many, many people.”

School shootings are a disturbing reality of American life and many facilities have reinforced security in recent years, especially in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012.

Twenty students and six adults were killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut by 20-year-old Adam Lanza.

On Wednesday, a student who got into an argument with the principal at a high school in South Dakota pulled a gun and shot the school official in the arm before he was tackled and subdued by staff.

There have been 142 school shootings in the United States since the Sandy Hook massacre, according to data compiled by Mass Shooting Tracker.

Trump: I would send Syrian refugees home

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Republican Donald Trump vows to send home all Syrian refugee if he is elected, saying they could be ISIL members.

Trump questioned why Syrians were fleeing their country instead of staying and fighting [Reuters]

Trump questioned why Syrians were fleeing their country instead of staying and fighting [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has said he would send back Syrian refugees taken in by the US if he is elected president.

Trump said during a rally in New Hampshire on Wednesday that he was worried the refugees could be disguised members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

“I am putting the people on notice that are coming here from Syria as part of this mass migration, that if I win, if I win, they are going back, they are going back, I am telling you, they are going back,” Trump said.

His remarks came the same day Russian warplanes began air raids in Syria’s centre and north – their first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979.

“Look, if Russia wants to go in there, [it] would have been nice if we went in as a unified front, to be honest. But if Russia wants to go in there and knock out ISIS (ISIL) and maybe stabilise, this big migration with 200,000 people into the United States…” Trump later reiterated to CNN.

“If I win, I’m going to say it right now and I’ll say it to you, those 200,000 people – they have to know this and the world will hear it – are going back.

“We’re not going to accept 200,000 people that may be ISIS. We have no idea who they are. And I’m telling you now, they may come in through the weakness of (President Barack) Obama,” but would return to their homeland if Trump makes it to the White House, he said.

Millions of Syrians have been fleeing a civil war that has killed more than 250,000 people since March 2011.

But Trump questioned why Syrians were fleeing their country instead of staying and fighting.

Secretary of State John Kerry announced earlier this month that the US would significantly increase the number of refugees it takes in over the next two years.

So far this year it has taken in about 1,500 Syrian refugees.

Kerry said the US will increase the number of refugees it takes in by 15,000 over each of the next two years, bringing the total to 100,000 in 2017.

The US will accept 85,000 refugees from around the world next year, up from 70,000, he said. Many of them will be Syrians.

US judge dismisses 9/11 case against Saudi Arabia

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Judge throws out case filed by victims’ families, saying Saudi Arabia cannot be sued due to sovereign immunity.

The 9/11 attacks resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people [Reuters]

The 9/11 attacks resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

A US judge has dismissed claims against Saudi Arabia by families of victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks, who accused the country of providing material support to al-Qaeda.

US District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan, New York, said Saudi Arabia had sovereign immunity from damage claims by families of nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks, and from insurers that covered losses suffered by building owners and businesses.

“The allegations in the complaint alone do not provide this court with a basis to assert jurisdiction over defendants,” Daniels wrote.

The victims had sought to supplement their case with new allegations to avoid that result, including based on testimony they secured from Zacarias Moussaoui, a former al-Qaeda operative imprisoned for his role in the attacks, Reuters reported.

Daniels said even if he allowed the plaintiffs to assert those new claims, doing so would be “futile, however, because the additional allegations do not strip defendants of sovereign immunity”.

Classified evidence

Saudi Arabia was dropped as a defendant before as judges said it was protected by sovereign immunity, but a federal appeals court in December 2013 reinstated it, saying a legal exception existed and the circumstances were extraordinary.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said they would appeal. Sean Carter, one the lawyers, said he believed the ruling was also the consequence of the US government’s decision to keep classified evidence that could be favourable to their cause.

Relatives allege that Saudi agents provided the hijackers who carried out the attack with assistance including helping two of them with accommodation in the US.

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers who carried out the attacks were citizens of Saudi Arabia.

The US government’s 9/11 Commission said in a 2003 report that there was no evidence Saudi Arabia had funded al-Qaeda.

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