By SONJA BARISIC,
NORFOLK, Va. - A father‘s emotional testimony over the loss of his son aboard the USS Cole opened a civil trial Tuesday in which relatives of the 17 victims of the terrorist attack are trying to prove it couldn‘t have happened without Sudan‘s support.
"Sudan‘s material support ... including continuous flow of funding, money, weapons, logistical support, diplomatic passports and religious blessing, was crucial in enabling the attack on the USS Cole," lawyers for the families said in court papers outlining their case.
"These 17 sailors were murdered," said Louge Gunn, who testified about how he had contemplated killing himself after his 22-year-old son‘s death.
"I dropped the phone. I went into a panic," Gunn testified. "I fell to the floor on my knees. It was the most devastating thing that had ever happened to me. I felt like somebody had put their hand in the inside of my body and pulled my skin out."
The families‘ lawyers intend to prove that Sudan has given safe haven to Osama bin Laden ‘s al-Qaida terrorist network since 1991 — long before Yemeni operatives blasted a 40-foot-hole in the side of the Cole in Yemen‘s port of Aden on Oct. 12, 2000.
The plaintiffs contend Sudan‘s embassy in New York gave logistical assistance to the bombers of the World Trade Center in 1993, but court documents included no details of the allegation.
Andrew C. Hall, an attorney for the families, opened the trial with a video re-creation of the attack and actual photographs of the damage.
Lorenzo Vidino, an expert on radical Islamic terrorism, said in court that Sudan was "a perfect sanctuary" for terrorists and that hundreds of militants from Yemen went to Sudan for training. He also said Sudan‘s military provided al-Qaida with at least four crates of weapons and explosives for terrorist activities in Yemen.
R. James Woolsey, CIA director under former President Clinton , testified in a videotaped deposition to support the families‘ position that al-Qaida needed Sudan‘s support to carry out the attack.
The families are seeking $105 million in damages to be shared by 59 spouses, parents and children of the bombing victims.
Potential damages could be reduced, though, to not more than $35 million — U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar has said he is inclined to apply the Death on the High Seas Act, which permits compensation for economic losses but not for pain and suffering.
By SONJA BARISIC, Associated Press Writer Tue Mar 13, 8:36 PM ET
NORFOLK, Va. - A father‘s emotional testimony over the loss of his son aboard the USS Cole opened a civil trial Tuesday in which relatives of the 17 victims of the terrorist attack are trying to prove it couldn‘t have happened without Sudan‘s support.
"Sudan‘s material support ... including continuous flow of funding, money, weapons, logistical support, diplomatic passports and religious blessing, was crucial in enabling the attack on the USS Cole," lawyers for the families said in court papers outlining their case.
"These 17 sailors were murdered," said Louge Gunn, who testified about how he had contemplated killing himself after his 22-year-old son‘s death.
"I dropped the phone. I went into a panic," Gunn testified. "I fell to the floor on my knees. It was the most devastating thing that had ever happened to me. I felt like somebody had put their hand in the inside of my body and pulled my skin out."
The families‘ lawyers intend to prove that Sudan has given safe haven to Osama bin Laden ‘s al-Qaida terrorist network since 1991 — long before Yemeni operatives blasted a 40-foot-hole in the side of the Cole in Yemen‘s port of Aden on Oct. 12, 2000.
The plaintiffs contend Sudan‘s embassy in New York gave logistical assistance to the bombers of the World Trade Center in 1993, but court documents included no details of the allegation.
Andrew C. Hall, an attorney for the families, opened the trial with a video re-creation of the attack and actual photographs of the damage.
Lorenzo Vidino, an expert on radical Islamic terrorism, said in court that Sudan was "a perfect sanctuary" for terrorists and that hundreds of militants from Yemen went to Sudan for training. He also said Sudan‘s military provided al-Qaida with at least four crates of weapons and explosives for terrorist activities in Yemen.
R. James Woolsey, CIA director under former President Clinton , testified in a videotaped deposition to support the families‘ position that al-Qaida needed Sudan‘s support to carry out the attack.
The families are seeking $105 million in damages to be shared by 59 spouses, parents and children of the bombing victims.
Potential damages could be reduced, though, to not more than $35 million — U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar has said he is inclined to apply the Death on the High Seas Act, which permits compensation for economic losses but not for pain and suffering.
Associated Press Writer
Tue Mar 13, 8:36 PM ET
