CNN cites Sharia law in legal motion for defamation suit over Afghanistan withdrawal reporting

CNN argued a security consulting company was, in fact, breaking Sharia law while evacuating people out of Afghanistan in a lawsuit regarding its reporting on the 2021 withdrawal.

In June, Florida judges ruled Zachary Young and his company Nemex Enterprises Inc. offered enough evidence to move forward in a defamation suit against CNN. Young alleged that the network smeared his security consulting company by implying it illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan, using the terms "black market," "exploit" and "exorbitant" to paint him as a bad actor preying upon desperate people. 

In a motion for summary judgment filed by CNN Thursday, CNN’s lead counsel Deanna K. Shullman said, "This entire defamation case centers on Young’s accusation that CNN implied he engaged in illegal conduct when he arranged, for a substantial fee, to have women smuggled out of Afghanistan." 

Shullman noted, in the filing obtained by Newsbusters, Young's actions were technically illegal because the Taliban had implemented Sharia law in Afghanistan at the time.

"[D]iscovery has indicated that those activities he orchestrated and funded, which involved moving women out of Afghanistan, almost certainly were illegal under Taliban rule," she said.

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However, the summary insisted CNN’s reporting on Young’s evacuation efforts was "never on whether what Young and other private operators were doing was illegal under Taliban law."

"Rather, the focus was on how bad actors—war profiteers such as Young—were taking advantage of the desperation of Afghans and the chaos in the country to demand prices for evacuations far beyond what Afghans could afford. That is what CNN journalists believed about Young and his business at the time—and still do. That is what CNN reported. And, that is what discovery in this case has proved, beyond any material question of fact, to be true," the summary read.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a CNN spokesperson reiterated, "Young takes issue with CNN referring to the conditions on the ground as a black market. Acknowledging the state of local law is a necessary part of the legal analysis. There is no good faith reading of CNN’s filing that supports such a false, reckless, and malicious characterization."

Freedman Normand Friedland partner Vel Freedman, who is representing Young in the case, attacked the network’s reference to Sharia law as a desperate way to avoid accountability.

"Citing a terrorist regime’s most extreme, twisted, interpretation of Sharia reflects CNN’s desperation to dodge accountability. Their argument is both legally baseless and an insult to the memory of those who suffered at the Taliban’s hands. We look forward to seeing CNN in trial," Freedman told Fox News Digital.

The report cited in the case came from a Nov. 11, 2021, segment on CNN’s "The Lead with Jake Tapper," which was shared on social media and also repackaged for CNN's website. Tapper explained to his audience how CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt discovered "Afghans trying to get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success."

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The quote also appeared as a chyron at the bottom of the screen.

Marquardt followed up by saying "desperate Afghans are being exploited" and need to pay "exorbitant, often impossible amounts" to flee the country. He singled out Young and his company, using a picture of his face on screen, as an example.

No other people or companies were named other than Young.

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Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.