Judge finds Sudan liable in Cole attack

NORFOLK, Va. — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Sudanese government caused the terrorist bombing of the USS Cole and will be liable for paying damages to the families of the 17 sailors killed in the attack.

U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar said he would issue a written opinion later.

The families of the Cole sailors sued Sudan, contending that the attack in 2000 could not have happened without the nation's support of the al-Qaida terrorist network.

Carl Gray, a lawyer representing the Sudanese government, declined to comment.

The Cole was in Yemen's port of Aden on Oct. 12, 2000, when the explosion ripped a 40-foot hole in its side.

The families are seeking $105 million in damages, but that could be reduced to $25 million to $35 million, lawyers said. Andrew Hall, an attorney for the families, said it will be up to the lawyers to collect damages from Sudan's assets that have been frozen in the United States.

Families may not get Moussaoui-case info

RICHMOND, Va. — A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the government does not have to turn over evidence from the trial of Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui to family members of those killed in the terrorist attacks.

The three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a Virginia judge lacked authority to order the government to provide the evidence for use in lawsuits against the airline industry and others.

Last April, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria said the families were entitled to nonsensitive information that prosecutors shared with Moussaoui's attorneys but never introduced at his trial.

Moussaoui was sentenced to life in prison in May after a jury found him responsible for at least one death on Sept. 11.

Seattle Times news services