PRESS RELEASE

AFGHAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WELCOME COURT RULING AFFIRMING ASSETS BELONG TO THE AFGHAN PEOPLE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, February 22nd 2023

PRESS CONTACT: Laila Ayub, media@projectanar.org

Washington D.C. – A coalition of Afghan American community organizations welcomes a judgment by a federal judge that rejects a bid to seize assets by the families of the victims of the September 11th attacks. We are pleased to see that Judge Daniels shares the same assessment we laid out in our amicus brief to the court: that this money belongs to the Afghan people, and no one else. 

"Just like the families of the September 11th attack victims, the Afghan people are no stranger to the Taliban’s brutality and rule. We support the 9/11 families' quest for just compensation, but believe justice will not be achieved by ‘raiding the coffers,’ as Judge Daniels put, of a people already suffering," said Arash Azizzada, co-director of Afghans for a Better Tomorrow (AFBT). 

"An appeal of this decision, which the 9/11 families have stated they will pursue, will only cause further harm to both Afghans and the families involved. We continue to encourage these families to seek legal retribution elsewhere, and to not further harm Afghans in the process," said Homaira Hosseini, Board Member of Afghan-American Community Organization (AACO). 

The Afghan civil society groups involved – Afghan American Community Organization (AACO), Project ANAR, Afghans For A Better Tomorrow (AFBT), and Global Advocates for Afghanistan (GAA) – filed an amicus brief through the Center for Constitutional Rights last year opposing the effort by a group of 9/11 families and other victims to seize billions of dollars from the Central Bank of Afghanistan. In the brief, we argued that the $3.5 billion in seized assets belongs to the Afghan people and ought to be used to alleviate pain and suffering in the wake of the humanitarian crisis. 

Earlier this year, the United Nations cited an urgent need for humanitarian aid to over 28 million Afghans in order to survive, with millions merely a step away from famine. We are pleased to see yesterday's decision as one small step towards providing that humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

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Project ANAR is an Afghan community immigration justice organization based in California that offers grassroots legal services, education, and advocacy. 

Afghans For A Better Tomorrow (AFBT) is an Afghan American community and advocacy organization that aims to bring about transformative change for Afghans in the United States and beyond.

Afghan American Community Organization (AACO) is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving the Afghan-American population to create a supportive, empowered, and engaged Afghan-American community.

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