A US court has rejected a request by victims of the 9/11 attacks to be paid compensation from frozen assets of the Central Bank of Afghanistan.
According to the BBC, Judge George Daniels announced in his judgement that he had no legal authority to access the Afghan funds frozen by the US and therefore rejected the request to pay the compensation from these funds.
Reminding that the government of US President Joe Biden does not recognise the Taliban government, Daniels stated that it was not possible for him to accept the compensation claims as it would contradict the US government’s policy.
Daniels emphasised that the rights to compensation approved by the judges for the September 11 attacks are reserved, “However, these compensations cannot be taken from the resources of the Central Bank of Afghanistan.
Daniels said that the reparations should not be imposed on the Afghan people or the previous government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and added, “The Taliban, who are responsible for the 11 September terrorist attacks, should pay this.”
The US administration froze $3.5 billion in the accounts of the Central Bank of Afghanistan in international financial institutions after the Taliban took control of the country.
The Taliban administration and Afghan civil society organisations are demanding the release of $3.5 billion.
The US administration, on the other hand, does not want the reserve in question to fall into the hands of the Taliban, as it does not officially recognise the Taliban administration.
