(Reuters) A U.S. judge on Friday recommended that victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks not be allowed to seize billions of dollars of assets belonging to Afghanistan’s central bank to satisfy court judgments they obtained against the Taliban.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in Manhattan said Da Afghanistan Bank was immune from jurisdiction, and that allowing the seizures would effectively acknowledge the Islamist militant group as the Afghan government, something only the U.S. president can do.
“The Taliban’s victims have fought for years for justice, accountability, and compensation. They are entitled to no less,” Netburn wrote. “But the law limits what compensation the court may authorize and those limits put the DAB’s assets beyond its authority.”
