EU court annuls freeze on Abu Qatada's assets

(LUXEMBOURG) - A top European court on Thursday annulled an asset freeze on Abu Qatada, the radical Muslim cleric detained in Britain and once described as Osama bin Laden's right-had man in Europe.

The European Court of First Instance ruled that, in line with an earlier case, the freezing of the Jordanian terror suspects' funds had been adopted in breach of "fundamental rights, in particular, rights of defence, the right to effective judicial review and the right to property."

The European Union introduced the assets freeze in line with resolutions by the UN Security Council due to his association with Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda movement.

Omar Mohammed Othman, better known as Abu Qatada, was included on a UN list of people associated with the presumed perpetrators of the 2001 9/11 terror attacks in the United States.

Qatada, once labelled Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe by a Spanish judge, is battling against being kicked out of Britain and sent back to his home country Jordan, where he says he faces torture after being sentenced in his absence to life imprisonment for terrorism offences.

The earlier case, last year, concerned Saudi Sheik Yassin Abdullah Kadi and the Swedish-based Al Barakaat International Foundation

The European court concluded that the EU "adopted the regulation in breach of Mr Othman's fundamental rights. Consequently, the court annuls the regulation in so far as it freezes Mr Othman's funds."

In the earlier case, which the EU court said was "in every way comparable", Europe's highest court last year ruled that the EU had failed to provide sufficient grounds for freezing the assets of Saudi resident Yassin Abdullah Kadi and the Swedish-based Al Barakaat International Foundation.

In Thursday's ruling, the lower EU court stressed that its decision would only take effect after the appeal period of two months and 10 days, and not at all if an appeal is upheld.

The court therefore considers that the EU will "have ample time in which to remedy the infringements found by adopting, if appropriate, a new restrictive measure directed against Mr Othman."

In January the European Union was forced to strike the main Iranian opposition group in exile, the People's Mujahedeen of Iran, from its list of terrorist organisations in accordance with court rulings.

11 June 2009 - Judgement of the Court of First Instance in Case T-318/01 [Court of Justice]