-Caveat Lector- http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/12/01/ wsaud01.xml&sSheet=/news/2002/12/01/ixnewstop.html&secureRef resh=true
Sunday 1 December 2002 New Saudi ambassador summonsed over Sept 11 By David Wastell, Diplomatic Correspondent (Filed: 01/12/2002) An American court has issued a summons against the next Saudi Ambassador to Britain alleging that in his previous job he helped to fund Afghanistan's Taliban regime while it was sheltering Osama bin Laden, lawyers said yesterday. The summons has been issued to Prince Turki al Faisal, the former head of Saudi intelligence, ordering him to respond to a compensation claim for more than $600 billion (£400 billion) brought by the families of victims of last year's September 11 terrorist attacks. The development will cast a shadow over Prince Turki's appointment which, The Telegraph has learnt, will be announced in Riyadh within the next few days, after a six-week delay. Uncertainty within the British Government over his appointment was resolved only last week. Yet Foreign Office officials yesterday still refused to confirm that Prince Turki, 57, was even a candidate. Saudi diplomats were equally reticent. The matter was "still being considered" an official said. The previous Saudi ambassador to Britain, Dr Ghazi Algosaibi, was recalled to Riyadh in September after widespread fury at poems and public comments by him apparently sympathising with Palestinian suicide bombers. Prince Turki, who courted bin Laden during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and maintained close contacts with the Taliban regime, was replaced as the Saudis' head of intelligence two weeks before the September 11 attacks, after almost 25 years in the post. Earlier this year, he said bin Laden had become "one of the most violent and, I think, one of the cruellest killers in modern history". The expected appointment of the Oxford-educated prince is popular with British diplomats, who regard him as an influential figure within the Saudi royal family. However, Prince Turki's inclusion in what is likely to be a protracted American lawsuit means that he is likely to spend his posting to Britain fending off questions. His summons, issued on October 29 but not yet served, follows growing anger in the United States at what many claim as collusion between Saudi Arabia's rulers and extreme Islamic groups. Prince Turki, who has made no public comment on the lawsuit, is being ordered to respond to a federal court in Washington DC, along with two fellow Saudi princes and dozens of other individuals - including members of the bin Laden family - banks and charitable organisations. If he fails to defend himself he risks being ruled against by default. A court judgment against him could eventually lead to an order to pay compensation, and his financial assets in many countries, including Britain, would be at risk. Because the action is a civil rather than a criminal case, and because it takes place outside Britain, US lawyers say he would not be shielded by diplomatic immunity. However, Prince Turki cannot be compelled to appear in court and there is no possibility of extradition. The issue of the summons is a significant escalation of the legal actions begun in America by victims and survivors of the al-Qa'eda attacks, and comes three months after parallel cases were launched in New York and Washington courts. The first summonses have been served on at least 26 defendants in an action brought by 3,000 victims and their relatives, and a further 87 summonses have been issued but not yet served. Legal advisers are exploring how best to serve the summons on Prince Turki, who is currently in Saudi Arabia. William Riley, an Indiana lawyer involved in processing the summons, said the task would be simpler if the prince takes up his posting to Britain. "We need only deliver the summons to the Saudi embassy in London," he said. Once a summons has been officially served, lawyers say, "the clock starts ticking" on the legal process which could lead to defendants being forced to pay compensation. Most of Prince Turki's contacts with bin Laden came during the Cold War, when Islamic resistance fighters were seen as allies of the West against communism. He has admitted to a series of meetings with bin Laden inside Afghanistan, but says that he shared intelligence information with the CIA and later attempted to negotiate the al-Qa'eda chief's arrest and extradition to Saudi Arabia. The victims' complaint to the Washington court, however, alleges that the prince, as the head of intelligence, made a deal with the Taliban during a meeting in 1998. They claim that he dropped the extradition attempt and pledged Saudi aid to the Taliban in exchange for an agreement that bin Laden would not target the Saudi government. The al-Qa'eda attacks on US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam came two months later. Allies of Prince Turki insist that the attempt to extradite bin Laden was scuppered by America's missile attack on al-Qa'eda training camps inside Afghanistan, in retaliation for the embassy bombings. The Saudi royal family is well-known for its generous contributions to charity, which sometimes backfire. Last week Prince Turki came to the defence of his sister, Princess Haifa al-Faisal, the wife of Prince Bandar, the Saudi ambassador to Washington, after allegations that some of the £33,000 she gave to the wife of another Saudi to help with medical bills ended up indirectly financing al-Qa'eda terrorists. She said that "accusations that I contributed funds to terrorists areoutrageous and completely irresponsible". In an interview with CNN in Saudi Arabia, Prince Turki refused to discuss the lawsuit but denied that members of the Saudi royal family would knowingly give money to al-Qa'eda. "al-Qa'eda is targeting the kingdom [of Saudi Arabia]. al-Qa'eda has done terrorist operations in the kingdom. "They are declared enemies of the kingdom. No one in their right mind would contribute to that." -- Outgoing mail is certified virus free Scanned by Norton AntiVirus <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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