9/11 Families’ Saudi Lawsuit Centers On Former San Diego Property Manager’s Account

According to the BBC, Holly Ratchford has spoken publicly for the first time about Omar al-Bayoumi, the former San Diego resident now at the center of a $1 trillion lawsuit brought by families and survivors of the September 11 attacks against Saudi Arabia. Ratchford, who managed Parkwood Apartments in San Diego in the late 1990s, said Bayoumi introduced her to Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, who later hijacked American Airlines flight 77 and crashed it into the Pentagon. The BBC reported that a federal judge in New York found a year ago that the evidence created a reasonable inference that Bayoumi and a Saudi diplomat in the US had been coordinating with the Saudi government while helping the hijackers. Saudi Arabia is appealing the ruling and denies the allegations. The case is now before the US Court of Appeal, which is due to hear oral arguments in October.