U.S. lawyer claims link between Saudis and Bali bombing

U.S. lawyer claims link between Saudis and Bali bombing

Agence France-Presse Sydney, Australia

A U.S. lawyer claimed on Tuesday to have found evidence that money from Saudi Arabia was used to fund terrorist cells linked to the October bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

The attorney, Allan Gerson, said he traced Saudi funds through terror cells in Europe and on to groups in Bali linked to the bombings which killed over 200 people, 89 of them Australian.

"When we looked at the actual evidence, we found out, to our surprise, how vast the network of support was, it extended way beyond cells in Europe to cells in Bali," Gerson told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

"I discovered that connection to the Bali bombing," he said.

Gerson has been leading a bid on behalf of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States to sue Saudi Arabian banks, charities and royal family members for allegedly helping fund the terrorists.

He said the evidence gathered during research for that suit showed that Saudis gave money to terrorists in Europe who traveled to Bali and likely provided funds for the October carbombings.

The bombings have been blamed on a radical regional group, Jamaah Islamiyah, which allegedly has links to the al-Qaeda network that carried out the Sept. 11 attacks.

"I have come across evidence that shows you can connect the dots between terror cells in Europe that received financing from individuals and entities in Saudi Arabia.

"Those terrorists cells in Europe definitely had connections with Bali,"he said.

Gerson said he could not reveal too many details of his evidence because it had been gathered through judicial cooperation with European governments.