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In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, 392 F.Supp.2d 539 (2005)
10 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 789

Saudi-based charities that were sponsors of al Qaida’s
operations, including IIRO, MWL, WAMY, BIF, SHC,
SJRC, and al Haramain. (Federal Compl. ¶¶ 442–43.)

[3] The Federal Plaintiffs seek leave to supplement the
record against Prince Salman and Prince Naif with an
article that appeared in Rus al Yusef, an Egyptian
publication, in August 1998. The unidentified author
writes that Islamic aid organizations located in
Afghanistan, Bosnia, Somalia, and Tajikistan provided
funds and cover to terrorists. (See Federal Mot. to
Supplement Record on Prince Naif and Prince Salman,
Ex. 2, at 2.) Donors to these unidentified organizations
“probably ha[d] no idea where their charity money ha[d]
gone.” (Id.) Prince Naif reportedly responded that “if
charity money is going to illegitimate targets, it must stop
immediately.” (Id.) From this submission, the Plaintiffs
argue that the Princes knew their charitable donations
were going to terrorists.

The submission is problematic for a variety of reasons
and will not be accepted. First, Plaintiffs do not provide
an explanation as why they were only able to obtain and
translate the article on the eve of oral argument—well
after the motions were fully submitted. Second, the article
and *551 its translation have not been authenticated.
More pointedly, however, it simply does not say that the
Princes were put on notice regarding specific charities and
that they continued to contribute to those charities with
the intent that their donations would assist al Qaida. The
Federal Plaintiffs’ motion to supplement the record
against Prince Salman and Prince Naif is denied.

B. Defendants’ Status as Foreign States for FSIA
Purposes
[4] The FSIA provides the following definition of “foreign
state”:

(a) A “foreign state” ... includes a political subdivision
of a foreign state or an agency or instrumentality of a
foreign state as defined in subsection (b).

(b) An “agency or instrumentality of a foreign state”
means any entity—

(1) which is a separate legal person, corporate or
otherwise, and

(2) which is an organ of a foreign state or political
subdivision thereof, or a majority of whose shares or
other ownership interest is owned by a foreign state

or political subdivision thereof, and

(3) which is neither a citizen of a State of the United
States ... nor created under the laws of any third
country.

28 U.S.C. § 1603. Further, “immunity under the FSIA
extends also to agents of a foreign state acting in their
official capacities [because] [i]t is generally recognized
that a suit against an individual acting in his official
capacity is the practical equivalent of a suit against the
sovereign directly.” Bryks v. Canadian Broad. Corp., 906
F.Supp. 204, 210 (S.D.N.Y.1995) (internal quotations
omitted); see also Terrorist Attacks I, 349 F.Supp.2d at
788–89 (finding Princes Sultan and Turki were foreign
states for FSIA purposes to the extent Plaintiffs alleged
liability for actions taken in their official capacities).

1. SHC
[5] SHC contends that it is an organ, agency, or
instrumentality of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and acts
on behalf of the Kingdom to fund a range of humanitarian
relief efforts to Bosnia, Egypt, and Somalia. (See
generally Al–Roshood Decl., at Huffman Decl. Ex. A.) In
support of its position as a foreign state, SHC submits the
affidavits of Dr. Al–Nafissa, a Saudi Arabian lawyer and
a Minister of State on the Council of Ministers in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Mr. Al–Roshood, who has
been the Director of the Executive Office of SHC since its
inception. The Court notes it is “required to give ‘great
weight’ to any extrinsic submissions made by the foreign
defendants regarding the scope of their official
responsibilities.” Leutwyler v. Office of Her Majesty
Queen Rania Al–Abdullah, 184 F.Supp.2d 277, 287
(S.D.N.Y.2001).

King Faud authorized Dr. Al–Nafissa to make his
declaration concerning SHC. (Al–Nafissa Decl. ¶ 2, at
Huffman Decl. Ex. C.) Dr. Al–Nafissa attests that SHC is
“an arm of the Saudi Arabian government [and that its
actions] are in keeping with the foreign and domestic
governmental policies of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
(Id. ¶ 3.) SHC was formed by Decision of the President of
the Council of Ministers in 1993. (Al–Roshood Decl. ¶ 6.)
In the same Decision, the Council of Ministers appointed
Prince Salman as President of SHC. (Id. ¶ 7.) As
President of SHC, Prince Salman is the head of SHC’s
Executive Committee and Supreme Commission,
members of which Prince Salman appoints. (Id.) SHC is
staffed by civil servant employees of the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia. (Id. ¶ 10.)

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