A European official is calling the procedure by which suspected terrorists are blacklisted by the European Union and United Nations a violation of human rights.

Swiss Senator and Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty said individuals placed on U.N. and EU terrorist lists don't have the right to appeal, Deutsche Welle reported Monday.

"Despite procedural improvements it remains almost impossible, in practice, to be removed from the blacklist -- a situation that is illegal and unacceptable," Marty said in a report presented to the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe.

Marty cited as an example the case of Yussef Nada, an Italian businessman of Egyptian origin who was blacklisted in 2001 on suspicion of financing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

Nada's assets were seized and his freedom of movement restricted despite law enforcement agencies in two countries "not finding a shred of evidence of any wrongdoing," Marty said.

His report urged the Council of Europe's 47 member states to guarantee the right to appeal blacklisting to an impartial organization.  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International




Publication date: 12 November 2007   

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