A BBC investigation has uncovered video evidence linking Omar al-Bayoumi, a central figure in a $1 trillion lawsuit by 9/11 families, to Saudi government officials and future al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki. The footage, which the FBI had shortly after the 2001 attacks, contradicts Bayoumi’s long-standing denials of being an extremist or a Saudi spy. The videos, part of the lawsuit against Saudi Arabia, show Bayoumi paintballing with Awlaki and a Saudi official. The lawsuit claims Saudi Arabia was complicit in the attacks and that Bayoumi assisted two hijackers. After the attacks, Bayoumi was arrested in the UK, where authorities found a plane diagram with a flight descent equation among his possessions. This evidence was not shared with British interrogators or the 9/11 Commission. Despite the evidence, Bayoumi was never prosecuted, and both he and the Saudi government have denied involvement in the attacks. The FBI and DOJ have not commented on the matter. The lawsuit was allowed to proceed in 2018, leading to the release of thousands of documents. The BBC’s investigation highlights the lack of action taken on the evidence over 25 years.
QUESTION: How might the release of this new evidence impact the ongoing legal proceedings and public perception of Saudi Arabia’s role in the 9/11 attacks?
New videos of man at centre of 9/11 lawsuit reveal links to extremists and Saudi state
