UAE "concerned" over US terrorist act

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is concerned over a recent adoption of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terror Act (JASTA) by the US Congress, the Emirati Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

 On Friday, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the JASTA. The Senate passed the act in May. "H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, has expressed the UAE's concern about the US Congress adopting the law referred to as the "Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act". 

He said that this law is contrary to general liability rules and the principle of sovereignty enjoyed by states," the statement said. The statement added that the minister warned of the negative effects of the act on a number of countries, including the Unites States itself, as well as on the international relations, as a whole. 

JASTA will allow a US citizen to bring suit against a foreign nation believed to have provided material support to facilitate a terror attack on US soil or affecting US persons. 

The bill will override current Saudi claims to sovereign immunity, allowing families of September 11 victims to bring a long-standing federal court case against the Saudi government for allegedly sponsoring the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Sputnik International