JEDDAH/LUXEMBOURG: Prominent Saudi businessman and philanthropist Yasin Kadi, who is on the European Union (EU) blacklist of individuals allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda, couldn’t have asked for a better Ramadan gift. In a new blow to the EU’s sanctions policy against those it suspects of supporting terrorism, the European Court of Justice yesterday annulled the EU’s decision to freeze his funds, saying the bloc had failed to respect Kadi’s right of defense.
“The rights of the defense, in particular the right to be heard and the right to effective judicial review of those rights, were patently not respected,” the EU’s top court said in a statement. “It is conceivable that, on the merits of the case, the imposition of those measures on Kadi may all the same prove to be justified.”
Further, the court ordered all involved countries to pay half the cost incurred by Kadi toward legal expenses.
“This is a historic judgment,” Kadi told Arab News, hailing the decision of the 14 judges. “It is also a national victory because my decision to confront these baseless allegations prevented more Saudi businessmen from being blacklisted and, today, I stand vindicated.”
Kadi, the co-owner of Karavan Construction, a construction company financing a multimillion-dollar project to build two high-rise buildings in Albania, heads the Saudi-based Muwafaq Foundation, which US investigators allege is a front for Al-Qaeda. He was among 39 individuals and organizations designated by the Bush administration to have their assets frozen for alleged terrorist ties.
Ever since the Albanian authorities froze Kadi’s assets as part of the investigation six years ago, the Saudi businessman has been insisting he has no ties to Osama Bin Laden or Al-Qaeda. But his appeals have fallen on deaf ears.
However, Kadi did not give up. He vowed to fight a legal battle until the freeze was lifted, claiming the Albanians were pressured by the US to take action.
“There was no arrest warrant and the decision to freeze the assets was politically motivated. It was not backed by any legal evidence and ran contrary to international law,” said Kadi. “Even though it took time, I am glad justice has been delivered.”
Kadi’s lawyers have long been convinced of their client’s innocence. “It is a great day for justice when you have the world’s biggest bloc’s judiciary rejecting the Kafka-type of policy of listing people ... without giving them the right to defend themselves,” said Saad Djebbar, coordinating counsel for Kadi, welcoming the court’s ruling.
Even though there would be no appeal or review of the stand, the court said the EU did not need to unfreeze the funds immediately, giving the bloc three months to put right its failure to respect the parties’ right of defense. The EU’s two main courts have given several rulings in the past two years against the way the bloc puts groups and people on its terrorism list.
But the bloc has not removed the people or groups from the blacklist, choosing instead to change its procedures and tell them why they were put on it.
A European Commission spokeswoman said the bloc would work on improving the procedure and use the three months to put right its failure to respect the parties’ rights of defense.
“I will now appeal to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to review my case and end it once and for all,” said Kadi. “Also, I will ask the US government to exercise wisdom and drop all charges against me. We have confronted all legal challenges and the message of the European Court of Justice should not be lost on Bush and his administration. I hope such baseless charges against other Muslims are also dropped.”
When Arab News contacted Kadi’s friends for reactions, they were jubilant. Saying they were happy for Kadi, a pious man of integrity and honor, they also hoped that the unwarranted witchhunt by the Bush administration against innocent Muslims would end.
— With input from agencies
