Ohio State professor can speak about $1 trillion lawsuit

More than 600 family members of Sept. 11 victims filed a $1 trillion lawsuit today against people and institutions in Saudi Arabia suspected of funding Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network. The lawsuit was filed the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Mary Ellen O’Connell, professor in the Michael E. Moritz College of Law, is an expert on international law in response to terrorism. She says she expected this type of lawsuit to be filed following Sept. 11. However, O’Connell says the problem with the lawsuit is finding sufficient evidence against the entities listed as defendants to support the charges.

Earlier, CNN reported the plaintiffs are suing seven international banks; eight Islamic foundations, charities and their subsidiaries; individual terrorist financiers; the Saudi bin Laden Group; three Saudi princes; and the government of Sudan for allegedly funding the al Qaeda network, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.