Mariane Pearl wants to strike back at the terrorists where it hurts them most, their pocket books. If it was only so easy as to gain access to their bank accounts. Despite the odds, Daniel Pearl's widow has sued a dozen alleged terrorists and Pakistan's largest bank. Mariane's pleadings in Brooklyn Federal Court blame the alleged terrorists for the torture and murder of her husband. Daniel Pearl was a reporter with the Wall Street Journal when he was abducted and killed in 2002. Pearl was kidnapped in Karachi while researching a story on Islamic Militants. Pearl's mutilated body was found buried in a shallow grave in the Eastern outskirts of Karachi. (His murder inspired the book pictured at the left, Who Killed Daniel Pearl.)
The lawsuit alleges that the bank financially bankrolled the terrorists. A key burden will be to prove that the Habib Bank Limited of Karachi knowingly provided financial services for al-Qaida and other terrorists. The suit seeks unspecified damages. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, al-Qaida No. 3 leader, is also a named defendant. He is currently imprisoned as a mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. An Islamic charity banned earlier this year by Pakistan, the al-Rashid Trust, is also a named defendant. The suit alleges that the trust was a front for Mohammed and al-Qaeda. The bank agreed earlier this year to improve policies aimed at detecting abuses thought to be associated with terrorism and money laundering.
The lawsuit alleges that the bank financially bankrolled the terrorists. A key burden will be to prove that the Habib Bank Limited of Karachi knowingly provided financial services for al-Qaida and other terrorists. The suit seeks unspecified damages. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, al-Qaida No. 3 leader, is also a named defendant. He is currently imprisoned as a mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. An Islamic charity banned earlier this year by Pakistan, the al-Rashid Trust, is also a named defendant. The suit alleges that the trust was a front for Mohammed and al-Qaeda. The bank agreed earlier this year to improve policies aimed at detecting abuses thought to be associated with terrorism and money laundering.
Kidnappers used Pearl's cell phone to threaten plaintiff Mariane Pearl, who was searching for her husband. Pakistan has convicted a few men associated with the murder. Ahmed Omar Saeed Shaikh was sentenced to death in July 2002 and three associates were sentenced to life in prison. Mohammed is currently held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He may have personally beheaded Pearl. (If he did, this lawsuit will answer the question posed by the title of the book.)
NO AMOUNT OF MONEY IS ENOUGH TO PUNISH ANYONE WHO PARTICIPATES IN OR SUBSIDIZES TERRORISM.
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13 comments:
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed must die...
You go girl. Hit em in the pocket book!
Brenda
How is she ever going to prove the bank was liable?
Jim
If we can find banks and such liable for terrorism, maybe they will start making it harder for terrorists to finance their operations and launder the dirty money.
Harry
His education, that of a paralegal, just shows he is not a stupid person. Seems to me it weighs against execution. Why incur the costs of appeal? Just let him rot. Besides, a good mind is a terrible thing to waste (commercial from the Reagen administration.)
Kathryn
OOps. Wrong topic
Lets throw Braddy and these terrorists all in an alligator pit. If Allah wants to save them, so be it.
Control the cash, you can control the man. Age old strategy that works in marriage and may very well work in combating terrorism.
I didn't think a woman had the right to sue in many of the countries that harbor terrorists.
How does it work? - does she file papers here, and then they are accepted or rejected in Pakistan? Or does she have to go there to file? Have the courts there agreed that she has the right to sue?
AS I understand it, she has sued in International Court. Getting a judgment is one thing. Collecting a dime is another. Good point, Colleency.
Show me the money.
How does one collect from a terrorist? The only time I remember something like this happening was in the Lockerbie, Scotland airline case against Libya. Khaddafi was willing to pay to ingratiate himself with the US and to be able to trade. Khaddafi, however runs Libya . . .
Just seems to me like another example of someone trying to be greedy.
Gwen S.
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