The Investigative Project on Terrorism
Investigating - Analyzing - Exposing - the threat of radical Islam
Court Case
Estate of Opati, et al. v. Republic of Sudan, et al.
May 2020 (Updated May 18, 2020)
Al Qaeda
In 1998, Al Qaeda bombed U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing over 200 people and injuring thousands. In 2001 and the following years, various plaintiffs, including the Opati plaintiffs, sued Sudan for materially supporting the bombings and arguing the bombings were "extrajudicial killings" under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). Sudan denied the allegations. In 2009, Sudan stopped responding to or participating in the litigation. In 2014, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued final judgments awarding more than $10.2 billion in damages against Sudan. Sudan appealed the cases. On appeal, the D.C. Circuit Court vacated the punitive damages awarded.The Opati plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the court to clarify whether "the FSIA may be applied retroactively to impose punitive damages on a state sponsor of terrorism." On May 18, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that victims of al Qaeda's 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Africa were eligible for punitive damages from Sudan, which was found to have assisted the terror organization.
Case Updates
2020-05-18 | Terrorism Victims Can Sue Countries for Punitive Damages, Supreme Court Rules
The Supreme Court sided Monday with victims of al Qaeda's 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Africa, ruling unanimously that they were eligible for punitive damages from Sudan, which was found to have assisted the terror organization. In August 1998, near-simultaneous bombs exploded at the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing more than 200 people and wounding thousands; al Qaeda claimed responsibility. Later, victims and their survivors sued Sudan, and more than a decade of litigation ensued, prompting myriad legal questions for courts to resolve. After a trial where Sudan didn't show up, a federal district court in Washington awarded victims $10.2 billion, including some $4.3 billion in punitive damages. The district judge found that "Sudan had knowingly served as a safe haven near the two United States Embassies and allowed al Qaeda to plan and train for the attacks," Sudan appealed, winning a partial victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. That court upheld compensatory damages against Sudan, but not punitive damages, which the Supreme Court backed Monday.
